Netflix is set to introduce new cheaper plans with ads by the end of this year. The streaming giant told its employees about the new plans, which will feature advertisements.
The company will also shut down password sharing around the same time, the report said, via Reuters.
This year has been upsetting for the company, as there was a drop in shares last month after the streaming platform lost more than 200,000 subscribers.
This reduction in subscribers was the first time in a decade that the company has lost subscribers.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said there will be cheaper plans with ads soon on the platform by the end of the year.
Mr. Hastings was always against the commercials on the platform and has been refusing for many years, but now the new plans stunned the media and advertising industry.
“I was always against putting commercials on the platform, I’ve never liked the advertisement idea, I’m more leaning towards the simplicity of subscription. But now we have to assess the market and follow our users. I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice,” Mr. Hastings said on the post-earning last month.
“The new plan is all about getting cheaper, consumers who don’t want to pay a hefty amount, they’ll have a better option now, but have to tolerate advertisements.”
Mr. Hastings said in April that the company was planning to figure out how to bring advertisements over the next year or two.
But recently Mr. Hastings told its employees to accelerate the process and bring out the new plans by the last three months of 2022.
The no-ad policy was the only thing that made Netflix stand out from other OTT rivals, but soon the new plans will make the competition tougher for the company.
The password sharing will also get shut down around the same time. The company said sharing password among the subscribers impacts its revenue, and its ability to invest in original content.
