Will Netflix Offer a Cheaper, Ad-Supported Plan?

• Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann said that there is a possibility for the streaming giant to roll out ads in the future.
• However, he added that introducing ad-supported tiers is not in the plans right now.
• Some of Netflix's rivals who offer cheaper, ad-based tiers include Hulu, HBO Max, and Paramount Plus. 

Time and again, Netflix has maintained a firm stance that it will not launch an ad-supported tier to the streaming platform. However, Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann acknowledged that he could "never say never" to the idea of rolling out ads sometime in the future.

Neuman was asked about his viewpoint on Netflix introducing ads at the recent Morgan Stanley's 2022 Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, as reported by Variety. Even though he didn't rule out the possibility, he made clear that the streaming giant didn't have any plans to introduce a cheaper, ad-supported plan anytime soon.

"It's not like we have religion against advertising, to be clear," he said, adding, "But that's not something that's in our plans right now… We have a really nice scalable subscription model, and again, never say never, but it's not in our plan." This topic came up while discussing how Netflix's streaming rivals are coming up with ad-supported tiers to rope in more customers, the most recent being Disney+.

Disney announced that it would add a cheaper plan with ads on Disney+ later this year. "It's hard for us to kind of ignore that others are doing it, but it now doesn't make sense for us," Neumann said. Some of Netflix's competitors who already offer ad-supported subscriptions are Hulu, HBO Max, and Paramount Plus. 

Even though Netflix boasts over 222 million subscribers, its growth has slowed, with more and more competitors showing up in the market. Another contributing factor to the slow growth is the increase in prices in the US and Canada this year. To this, the Netflix exec said, "At the end of the day, we're pricing for what we believe is the value we provide." Instead of relying on ads to expand its subscription base and boost revenue, the company has recently ventured into mobile games for Android and iOS users.

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