Netflix will launch its advertising tier – Basic with Adverts – into 12 countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain starting from November 1, with the UK set for launch at precisely 4pm GMT on November 3 at a cost £4.99 per month. Taking the UK as an example, current ad-free Netflix plans range from £6.99 to £15.99 a month. The ad tier launches in the USA on November 3 at $6.99. Canada goes live at 9am PT on November 1 and will cost ad-tolerant subscribers $5.99 a month. The other countries in the first launch wave are Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea and Mexico.
Netflix predicts an average of 4-5 minutes of advertising per hour, made up of pre-rolls and mid-rolls of 15 or 30 seconds. Ad targeting will only be broad, covering country and genre, and advertisers have been told they will have contextual control – like the ability to prevent ads appearing where there is sex, nudity or graphic violence, etc. Starting in Q1 2023, viewability and traffic validity will be verified via partnerships with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science.
The ad-tier will offer video quality up to 720p/HD (matching the non-ads Basic plan). Some films and TV series will not be available in the ad-tier due to licensing restrictions and users will not be able to download titles. Existing plans are not affected.
The analyst firm Omdia recently forecast that 60% of Netflix’s global subscribers will be on the ad-supported tier by 2027. Ampere Analysis predicts that 19.3% of Western European users will sign up to an ad-supported tier by 2027, with most of them coming from Netflix’s existing customer base.
Netflix declares: “Basic with Adverts is everything people love about Netflix, at a lower price, with a few adverts in between. Basic with Adverts also represents an exciting opportunity for advertisers – the chance to reach a diverse audience, including younger viewers who increasingly don’t watch linear TV, in a premium environment with a seamless, high-resolution adverts experience.”
The company adds: “None of this would have been possible without our team’s hard work or Microsoft’s extraordinary partnership. The switch from linear is happening at an ever-increasing speed. We’re confident we have a price and plan for every fan. While it’s still very early days, we’re pleased with the interest from both consumers and the advertising community.”
