Netflix could speed up its timeline for an ad-supported plan that costs less and although this might sound like good news, the company could also be speeding up its timeline for its password sharing crackdown.
The two events are said to happen towards the end of this year.
Netflix Plans to Launch Its Cheaper Ad-Supported Plans Before the End of the Year
According to the story by Android Central, Netflix is now desperate to make drastic moves as soon as they can. Per Android Central, reports are indicating a potential streaming tier that is cheaper and supports ads to roll out some time before the year ends.
Executives at Netflix, according to the report of The New York Times, have told employees that the last quarter of this year is their timeline for the new streaming tier. If the reported directive from its executives will be followed, this means that October could be the earliest time that Netflix would roll out the new streaming plan.
The Streaming Platform was Previously Opposed to Ads
Reed Hastings, the co-CEO and co-founder of Netflix, said that the option would be explored within the next two years in a previous statement. Due to Hastings' previous announcement, the news regarding the company's timeline came as a surprise.
Android Central points out that the platform has previously been adamant against ads on their streaming service. This is despite the fact that ad-supported plans were already being introduced by their rivals.
An example of a competitor that supports ads on cheaper plans is HBO Max, which started the ad-supported tier in 2021 and has still seen a significant over three million growth in its subscriber base.
Netflix is Estimated to Lose Two Million Subscribers While Its Market Capitalization Tanked by $70 Billion
Netflix has lost 200,000 accounts so far, which is the first time it has lost subscribers in 10 years. By this quarter, the streaming platform is also set to lose two million subscribers.
The damage goes deeper than just subscriber loss. In fact, Netflix even lost about $70 billion from its total market capitalization. The downward slope of the streaming service's market capitalization allegedly happened after it reported the subscriber loss.
Netflix has heavily highlighted password sharing as the cause of its woes. This practice, however, has long been normalized by users of the streaming platform.
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The Streaming Service Plans to Charge Users for Sharing Passwords In a New Type of Plan
Charging users who share their accounts "with others outside their household" is another feature being tested out by the company. Netflix's ad-supported tier is expected to roll out along with some other plans, which include password sharing charges.
Netflix did not give a comment when asked by Android Central and the publication says that the changes might make it harder for the company to win back the lost subscribers. It was also mentioned that the problem could be "much deeper than password sharing."
Related Article: HBO Gains 77 Million Subscribers After Netflix Lost Hundreds of Thousands
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
