3€ per month! This is the price of your available brain time according to Netflix
While in 2020, Netflix had no intention of offering advertising on its platform, the service changed its tune in August 2022. It is in fact an offer modeled on its package the cheapest: the “Essential”. The latter will still be offered at €8.99, but the “ Essential with ad will be displayed at €5.99 from November 3. With this offer, Netflix wants to raise the bar and reach 40 million additional subscribers by the end of 2023 in the 12 countries where it will be offered. France is part of the lot, but not Belgium or Switzerland.
Let’s start with the two good points: there will be no advertising for the Youth section of Netflix and the Essential and Essential with ads offers will offer video in 720p instead of standard definition 480p. There will be no change for the Standard and Premium plans (2 screens in 1080p at €13.49 and 4 screens in 4K at €17.99)
So. That’s it for the good points.
Do you like Netflix as you have it today? Perfect, nothing will change for you!
And from November, so that everyone can enjoy Netflix, we will be available from €5.99/month, via a new offer with advertising.https://t.co/HOrZlFGUIu pic.twitter.com/h5YxXkbrtb
— Netflix France (@NetflixFR) October 13, 2022
Also read: Amazon Prime Video free for up to 90 days without commitment!
Good news, but mostly bad…
Now the bad news.
There will be 4 to 5 minutes of advertising per hour of viewing, except for Netflix productions which will only display 15 to 30 seconds of advertising before the program (and not in the middle). Of course, it’s impossible to pass these advertisements, and even if we imagine that clever little guys will try it, two organizations will be responsible for checking that you are not cheating. The ads will be selected according to the program and there will be a rotation to avoid seeing the same spots all the time.
Another blow: viewers who choose this option with ads will not be able to download the programs to watch them offline. But the worst concerns the catalog itself since, due to conflicts with rights, only 85% of content will be available. Indeed, during the broadcast negotiations, it would seem that some producers made it clear that they did not want their films to be interrupted by advertising. Netflix is currently trying to correct the situation on a case-by-case basis…
Still, for a difference of €3/month between the basic offer and the one with advertising, there is a good chance that this formula will not arouse enthusiasm. But maybe they plan to increase the other packages in the near future?
