Announced a few weeks ago, at the time of the loss of subscribers in the first quarter and a cart of 150 employees, the ad will soon arrive on the platform.
It’s now official: Ads are coming to Netflix, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The platform’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, confirmed Thursday at the Cannes Lions advertising festival that the future of the streaming giant will be with advertising. And explained this about-face.
Indeed, Netflix had long been opposed to advertising on its service, but after it released disappointing numbers last quarter showing the service had lost 200,000 subscribers, the company said it would offer a new, cheaper funded subscription. through advertising in order to attract new customers.
“We’ve left out a big customer segment, which is people who think, ‘Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind advertising’“, said Sarandos on the Cannes Lions stage.
We are adding a subscription category with ads, we are not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We’re adding a plan with ads for people who think ‘I want a lower rate and I’ll watch the ads’.
This is the first time that Netflix has taken part in the Cannes Lions advertising festival, a clear sign of the company’s desire to embrace this new territory. Sarandos has confirmed that they are already in talks with potential partners. However, he did not give a launch date for this offer.
Zuma Press / Bestimage
Ted Sarandos at the “Ozark” Season 4 premiere in New York on April 21, 2022
300 more employees laid off
At the same time, Deadline we learn that Netflix has laid off 300 additional employees. The move comes after 150 positions were cut in May due to slowing revenue growth at the company.
“Today we unfortunately laid off around 300 employees“said a Netflix spokeswoman.As we continue to invest significantly in the business, we have made these adjustments so that our costs increase in line with our slower revenue growth. We are so grateful for all they have done for Netflix and are working hard to support them through this difficult transition.“
The latest layoffs come after Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in its first quarter. The company began making staff cuts in April with a number of members of fan site Tudum, before cutting positions in its US teams. In addition to the United States, this new burst of deletions now affects Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Netflix employs approximately 11,000 people worldwide.