Netflix AVOD offer will be available in 12 countries from November 3 Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.
The SVOD leader emphasized that with the launch, current plans and members will not be affected and that “Basic with Ads” plan will complement the existing Basic, Standard and Premium plans without ads. In the UK it will cost £4.99 a month, reported Rapid TV News.
AVOD’s offering came to light after several financial quarters that showed Netflix subscriptions stagnating, leading some to worry about the company’s growth trajectory, especially in markets suffering from high inflation.
As for the content included in the package, Basic with Adverts will offer what Netflix says will be a ‘wide variety’ of TV series and movies and a personalized viewing experience, which will run on a variety of televisions and mobile devices. Users can change or cancel a plan at any time.
Basic with Ads will deliver content up to 720p/HD video quality (now for Basic with Ads and Basic plans) and average 4-5 minutes of ads per hour. A limited number of movies and TV series will not be available due to what Netflix says are licensing restrictions. There is no possibility to download titles.
At launch, ads will be 15 or 30 seconds long and will play before and during shows and movies. To help advertisers reach the right audience and ensure our ads are more relevant to consumers, Netflix will offer extensive country and genre targeting capabilities (eg, action, drama, romance, sci-fi). Advertisers will also be able to prevent their ads from appearing on content that might be inconsistent with their brand.
Commenting on the launch six months after an AVOD deal was first mooted, Netflix chief operating officer and product officer Greg Peters said the deal would not have been possible without the hard work of their team or its partnership with Microsoft.
He added: ‘The linear shift is happening at an ever-increasing rate, with streaming now overtaking broadcast and cable in the US. We’re confident that with Netflix starting at £4.99 a month, we now have a price and a plan for every fan. While it’s still early days, we’re pleased with the interest from both consumers and the advertising community and couldn’t be more excited about what’s to come. As we learn and improve the experience, we hope to launch it in more countries over time’.
