Streaming with ads could be the model of the future. Netflix has also introduced a corresponding subscription. But how does that actually go down with the masses and especially the subscribers?
The advertising subscription from the streaming giant Netflix has been available since November 2022. For currently 4.99 euros per month, interested parties get a particularly low tariff. For this, they are shown advertisements before, during and after the stream; about four to five minutes per hour. In a large survey, TECHBOOK asked its readers what they think of the new subscription – with some unequivocal results.
Streaming and advertising – the new dream team?
Advertising has long been associated with linear television in the entertainment space. When the first streaming providers took off, advertising – or the lack of it – was one of the aspects that differentiated the platforms from the classic TV experience. You had the content you wanted to watch at your fingertips, with no commercial breaks.
That has been changing for some time. Driven by the fierce competition in the streaming business, there is an increasing fight for the audience. With more and more new and above all expensive own content, the services try to stand out from each other and keep their own customers. Growth is sometimes difficult there; providers are in the red. Netflix’ debt, for example, is now over $15 billion (USD). And even Disney+, which overtook Netflix last year in terms of subscription numbers, has operational business in 2022 made a loss of almost USD 1.5 billion.
The solution for streaming services seems to lie in the advertising industry. With over 200 million subscribers in some cases, the platforms are very attractive for advertising customers. That is why more and more streaming services are now offering a cheaper or even free subscription in which advertising is regularly shown instead. Netflix has also had such a subscription since the end of 2022. At just under 5 euros per month, the tariff costs 3 euros less than the previously cheapest “Basic” subscription. Subscribers see advertising and have to do without some content and functions.
Netflix subscription with ads starts bumpy
At least at the start, the new Netflix tariff with advertising fell short of expectations. There was even talk of giving advertisers their money back – TECHBOOK reported. In the meantime, the market has stabilized somewhat, especially in the USA.
Nevertheless, we wanted to know from our readers how they find the Netflix advertising subscription. That’s why we asked who actively uses the subscription, has already used it, or would like to book the corresponding tariff in the future. We then specifically asked readers what they thought of the advertising subscription; The options were “I really like the subscription”, “Somewhat” and “Not at all”. Since in many cases the price-performance ratio is decisive for such an opinion, we specifically asked whether the price was considered reasonable in this case. Almost 37,000 people took part in the survey.
Netflix Ad Subscription Survey
The TECHBOOK readers already had a clear opinion of the advertising subscription from Netflix in advance. In our survey for the launch of the new tariff at the end of 2022 22 percent on, the cheaper Netflix subscription with advertising to use in the future. the others 78 percent spoke each other against it out of.
This roughly corresponds to the results of the current survey in May 2023. From the respondents now use at least 24 percent Netflix promotional subscription active. Further 4 percent used it and then canceled again. Only 2 percent on the other hand, plan to cancel the subscription in the future yet to book. The overwhelming majority (70 percent) does not use the subscription at all and has no plans to do so.
When asked how well Netflix subscribers liked the advertising subscription, the answers were also quite clear. 11 percent really like the subscriptionmore 18 percent like it at least partially. With 71 percent are the respondents for whom the subscription with advertising at Netflix doesn’t agree at allbut clearly in the majority.
To what extent the price affects the acceptance of the tariff cannot, of course, be answered in detail. However, according to our survey 46 percent the 4.99 euros per month too much for what you get in the end. 21 percent consider the price to be appropriate. The remaining 33 percent had no clear opinion.
Conclusion on the Netflix subscription with advertising
In summary, one can say that the new subscription with advertising in Germany does not yet have a particularly good reputation among Netflix users. Reasons for this could be both the limited functions and partially blocked content, which, however, can be accessed with an ad-free subscription. The price of 4.99 euros per month is also felt by many to be disproportionate to what is on offer. It must also be mentioned that the advertising subscription from Netflix was initially only available in low SD quality. At least in this regard, the provider has now improved.
If you look at the offers of the other services, then the Netflix tariff definitely has tough competition. With Amazon Freevee, the content is completely free. In the current Amazon Prime subscription, advertising only runs before the content and not during it. With RTL + there are even several subscriptions with advertising – the cheaper the offer, the more advertising runs.
Nevertheless, it has to be said that the current survey values are of course only a snapshot. If you look at the USA, for example, then the Netflix advertising subscription has already arrived and been accepted there on a large scale, probably because advertising is more accepted in the United States than in Germany. Paramount+, (HBO) Max, Disney+ and many other well-known streaming services, some of which do not even exist in Germany, all show advertising there within their subscriptions.
Among other things because of that Netflix co-boss Greg Peters is confident, as for the Netflix subscription with ads. Within three years they want to land with the proceeds in a mid-single-digit billion amount. But at least as far as success in this country is concerned, according to current opinion, there is still a long way to go for Netflix.