Netflix announced Wednesday that its ad-supported subscription now accounts for nearly 5 million monthly active users, while some observers worried about the new formula’s alleged lack of success.
The announcement comes as the Wall Street Journal published an article on Wednesday stating that some advertisers are “frustrated by the small size” of the consumer base likely to see ads and that they can’t serve as many as they’d like.
After strong growth during the pandemic, Netflix weathered a rough 2022, losing nearly 1.2 million subscribers in the first half, before skyrocketing again over the holiday season.
“Our user base with ads has more than doubled”
The Californian group has promised to focus on diversifying its sources of income more than the number of users.
After years of reluctance, in November the service launched a new, cheaper subscription ($7 a month in the United States) with advertising. It is available in 12 countries, from the United States to Australia via France and Japan.
“So far this year, our ad-supported user base has more than doubled,” Co-CEO Greg Peters said in the statement. “On average, more than a quarter of new subscribers opt for this formula in the countries where it exists.”
Brands are particularly interested in “communicating with our audiences” when they watch “among the most watched and culturally significant” shows each year, insisted Peter Naylor, Netflix’s vice president in charge of advertising sales.
By the end of March, the platform had more than 232 million subscribers around the world. In addition to advertising, it was proposed to force users to pay to add profiles to their account, instead of sharing their password for free.
Source: BFM TV
