May 31, 2023, 10:29 am | Read time: 5 minutes

Since November 2022, streaming giant Netflix has offered an ad-supported subscription. For currently 4.99 euros per month, interested parties get a particularly affordable rate. In return, they are shown ads before, during, and after streaming; about four to five minutes per hour. TECHBOOK conducted a large survey asking its readers how they feel about the new subscription–with some clear results.

Streaming and Advertising–the New Dream Team?

Advertising was long associated with linear television in the entertainment sector. When the first streaming providers established themselves, the absence of ads was one of the aspects that set the platforms apart from the traditional TV experience. You had the content you wanted to watch available at any time–without commercial breaks.

This has been changing for some time now. Driven by fierce competition in the streaming business, there is increasing competition for audiences. With more and more new and especially expensive original content, the services try to differentiate themselves and retain their customer base. Growth is sometimes difficult; providers are in the red. Netflix’s debt, for example, is now over 15 billion U.S. dollars (USD). Even Disney+, which surpassed Netflix in subscription numbers last year, posted an operating loss of nearly 1.5 billion USD in 2022.

The solution for streaming services seems to lie in the advertising industry. With over 200 million subscribers, the platforms are very attractive to advertisers. That’s why more and more streaming services now offer a cheaper or even free subscription that regularly shows ads instead. Since the end of 2022, Netflix has also had such a subscription. At just under 5 euros per month, the rate is 3 euros less than the previously cheapest “Basic” subscription. In return, subscribers see ads and have to forgo some content and features.

Netflix Subscription with Ads Starts Off Rocky

At least at the start, the new Netflix plan with ads fell short of expectations. There was even talk of refunding advertisers their money–TECHBOOK reported. Meanwhile, the market has somewhat stabilized, especially in the U.S.

We still wanted to know from our readers how they feel about Netflix’s ad-supported subscription. So we asked who actively uses the subscription, who has used it, or who plans to subscribe to the corresponding plan in the future. We then specifically asked for readers’ opinions on the ad-supported subscription; the options were “I really like the subscription,” “Partially,” and “Not at all.” Since the price-performance ratio is often decisive for such an opinion, we also specifically asked whether the price is considered reasonable in this case. Almost 37,000 people participated in the survey*.

Survey on Netflix’s Ad-Supported Subscription

Even beforehand, TECHBOOK readers had a clear opinion on Netflix’s ad-supported subscription. In our survey at the start of the new plan at the end of 2022, 22 percent said they planned to use the cheaper Netflix subscription with ads in the future. The other 78 percent were against it.

This roughly aligns with the results of the current survey in May 2023. Of those now surveyed, 24 percent actively use Netflix’s ad-supported subscription. Another 4 percent have used it and then canceled it. Only 2 percent plan to subscribe to it in the future. The vast majority (70 percent) do not use the subscription and do not plan to.

When asked how much Netflix subscribers like the ad-supported subscription, the answers were also quite clear. 11 percent really like the subscription, another 18 percent like it at least partially. However, with 71 percent, the respondents who do not like the ad-supported subscription at Netflix at all are clearly in the majority.

To what extent the price affects the acceptance of the plan cannot, of course, be answered in detail. According to our survey, however, 46 percent find the 4.99 euros per month too much for what you ultimately get. 21 percent consider the price reasonable. The remaining 33 percent had no clear opinion.

More on the topic

Streaming Netflix Upgrades Ad-Supported Plan and Delays Introduction of Account-Sharing Fees

Editorial Team in Discussion Are Streaming Services in Crisis?

Conclusion on Netflix’s Ad-Supported Subscription

In summary, it can be said that the new ad-supported subscription does not yet enjoy a particularly good reputation among Netflix users here. Reasons for this could be both the limited features and partially blocked content, which are available with an ad-free subscription. Many also consider the price of 4.99 euros per month disproportionate to what is offered. It should also be mentioned that Netflix’s ad-supported subscription was initially only available in low SD quality. At least in this regard, the provider has since improved.

Looking at the offerings of other services, the Netflix plan certainly faces tough competition. At Amazon Freevee, the content is completely free. In the standard Amazon Prime subscription, ads only run before the content and not during. At RTL+, there are even several subscriptions with ads–the cheaper the offer, the more ads run.

Nevertheless, it must be said that the current survey results are, of course, only a snapshot. Looking at the U.S., the Netflix ad-supported subscription has already been widely accepted and adopted, probably also because advertising is more accepted in the United States than here. Paramount+, (HBO) Max, Disney+, and many other well-known streaming services, some of which are not even available in Germany, all show ads within their subscriptions there.

Among other reasons, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters is reportedly optimistic about the Netflix ad-supported subscription. Within three years, they aim to reach mid-single-digit billion-dollar revenue. But at least regarding success here, according to the current opinion, Netflix still has a long way to go.

Sources

• Bloomberg (“Netflix’s New Co-CEOs Answer All Your Questions,” accessed May 31, 2023)
• Netflix (“Shareholder letter,” accessed May 30, 2023)
• Disney (“Disney’s Fiscal Full Year and Q4 2022 Earnings Results Webcast,” accessed May 30, 2023)

*Note on methodology: Voting was possible once per device (computer, smartphone, etc.) for each option. The voting is not representative.