Netflix confirms it will offer a new ad-supported tier for viewers who want to pay less

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has confirmed at the Cannes Lions advertising festival that the company will offer a new lower-priced plan that is supported by ads.

The streaming giant has avoided introducing such a plan for a long time, but saw no other options after losing 200,000 subscribers in the last quarter. It was the first time Netflix has lost subscribers in over a decade.

Sarandos said:

We’ve left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: ‘Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind advertising.'

According to reports, Netflix is already in-talks with ad-sales partners. And although Sarandos did not say when this lower-priced ad-support plan might be unveiled, reports say that employees have been briefed internally that the target is for it to launch before the end of this year.

Sarandos also spoke about the company's future and admitted that the company could be the target of a buyout. He said that a buyout “is always a reality, so we have to be wide-eyed about that."

However, he is also confident that the company could continue to grow on its own, citing its scale, profitability, and fresh cash flow.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter