Netflix confirms launching ad-supported cheaper subscription plans
India Today
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has confirmed that it is planning to introduce an ad-supported tier to its list in an interview at the Cannes Lions advertising festival.
Netflix’’s ad-supported subscription plans are not a figment of our imagination after all, the company has confirmed rolling them out soon. The company CEO Ted Sarandos has confirmed that it is planning to introduce an ad-supported tier to its list in an interview at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. A report by The New York Times previously confirmed that the company is planning to launch the plans by the end of this year.
Netflix is in dire need of new subscribers. The company, during an earnings call, announced that it had close to 2 lakh paid subscribers. The slump in paid subscribers has stunted the revenue growth of the company. That is also one of the reasons why the company has parted ways with close to 300 employees in a matter of six months. However, the ad-supported plans can make things a little better for the company now as they are expected to be cheaper.
“We’ve left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: ‘Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind advertising,'” Sarandos said Thursday, during the Cannes Lions stage with Sway podcast host Kara Swisher. “We adding an ad tier; we’re not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We’re adding an ad tier for folks who say, ‘Hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch ads.'”
Netflix is currently the largest streaming giant with close to 222 million subscribers, but the loss in paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 has impacted the company in a huge way. The company is still trying to come out of the blow caused by the subscriber loss. It has not only impacted the business of the streaming giant, but so many employees had to let go of their jobs at Netflix.
As per The Variety, Netflix confirmed that it has “sadly let go of 300 employees”.The report reveals that most job losses have taken place in the US and have happened across multiple business divisions. Variety reports that Netflix has a total of 11,000 employees. So the latest round of layoffs has affected approximately 2 percent of its workforce.
“While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth,” the Netflix spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday. “We are so grateful for everything they have done for Netflix and are working hard to support them through this difficult transition.”
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