By [ad_1]
It’s a done deal. Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, claims that as the company introduces an ad-supported tier that will cut the price for some members, there will be more advertisements on the streaming service in the future.
“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 at the Cannes Lions advertising festival regarding the much-discussed idea of adding ads to Netflix. “We’re 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.’”
During his appearance at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, Sarandos admitted that the possibility of a buyout “is always a reality, so we have to be wide-eyed about that.” However, Sarandos has not yet given up hope, assuring that the streaming giant can return to growth all on its own. “We have plenty of scale, and profitability and free cash flow to continue to grow this business,” he added.
The interruption of users’ watching experiences by adverts has never been something Netflix has been fond of. Sarandos and the other Netflix executives, however, are obviously hoping that adopting a lower-cost tier that contains commercials would help to alleviate some of their massive subscriber losses. The streaming behemoth is under increasing pressure and has experienced multiple financial setbacks. But with such prevailing winds and radical changes in the streaming market, Sarandos admitted that they have not ruled out the option of a prospective buyout.
It makes sense for Netflix to look to Google for help in delivering this additional tier of ads since they are being brought in to do so similarly to how they already do so on the most widely used video platform, YouTube.
With declining viewership and a falling stock price, Netflix is currently experiencing its greatest problems since its founding. Additionally, they saw a net loss of 200,000 customers early this year and anticipate losing another two million over the coming several months.
Yesterday, the streamer shocked staff with another massive layoff. In fact, this time they terminated twice as many staffers according to Breitbart.
The bloodletting at Netflix continued on Thursday as the far-left-wing streamer axed an additional 300 employees worldwide, or about 3 percent of its workforce — the company’s largest layoff since its subscriber downturn in the first quarter.
Netflix handed out pink slips to 216 staffers in the U.S. and Canada, with the remainder of the cuts coming from other regions throughout the world. according to an official statement sent to multiple news outlets.
In May, the streamer laid off 150 employees, or 2 percent of its workforce, as part of its ongoing efforts to cut spending amid a catastrophic subscriber forecast for the months ahead. Netflix said it could lose up to 2 million subscribers in the coming months after unexpectedly losing 200,000 customers in the first quarter of the year.
Netflix leaders described Thursday’s layoffs as ” very hard for everyone – creating a lot of anxiety and uncertainty.”
“We plan to return to a more normal course of business going forward. And as we cut back in some areas, we also continue to invest significant amounts in our content and people,” co-CEO Reed Hastings said in a memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
With a staggering 225 million customers globally, Netflix continues to be the most popular streaming service at the moment despite all these issues and difficulties. Yet with new streaming options coming into the market, Netflix had better find a way to maintain its position as the leader in the face of this growing competition.
Is introducing a more affordable ad-supported tier truly the solution?
[ad_2]
