It seems that strategies for Netflix to reverse subscriber losses will come to fruition very soon. According to an internal company note obtained by the portal The New York Timesthe cheapest plan with ads and the extra charge for password sharing is expected to go into effect later this year.
Arrival of the plan with announcements…
According to two anonymous sources familiar with the situation, Netflix executives revealed that the cheapest subscription with ads – something similar to what already happens on HBO Max and Disney +, for example – should arrive on the platform. in the last three months of 2022.
In the past, Netflix has reinforced the idea that commercials would never make it to the platform. But the loss of subscribers in the last quarter seems to have made the company change its mind and the strategy is now to launch a more affordable plan to win new users.
“All the major streaming companies, with the exception of Apple, have announced an ad-supported service. For good reason, people want lower priced options.”
…and extra charge for shared accounts
The statement would also have said that the charge for shared accounts must go into effect. also in the last three months of this year. In practice, users will have to pay an extra fee to add sub-accounts accessed outside the home.
The plan was already being tested in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru since March and Procon-SP even notified the streaming platform to find out if the measure would be adopted in Brazil. Nothing official has been confirmed so far, but the note suggests that the action will be implemented globally.
Will Netflix’s Strategy Succeed?
All the measures announced are part of Netflix’s strategy to avoid disastrous new numbers. In the first quarter of this year, the company revealed the loss of 200 thousand subscribers. To make matters worse, the expectation is that this loss will reach two million in that second quarter.
In this sense, the plan with ads might even work – although paying to see ads is always something to be contested. But there is a big doubt whether this extra charge for shared accounts will retain users instead of generating a mass withdrawal.
Analysts even estimated that this extra fee could generate about R$ 7.7 billion annually for the company. But this will only be a reality if the plans are maintained, since the limitation of access only to residents of the same location (right, Spotify?) was not well received by the community.
It is worth remembering that, for now, the information is derived from anonymous sources and will need to be confirmed by the company itself. But it’s good that Netflix users are prepared, because the possibility of changes in a few good months is more than real.
Via: Tech Radar
