Netflix Confirms Ad-Supported Plans Are On the Way

Netflix has confirmed rumors that it is working on ad-supported plans as the company looks to grow its subscriber base.

Netflix turned in its first subscriber loss in roughly a decade at its last quarterly results, sending the stock down and leading to hundreds of lay-offs. The company is experimenting with various ways to turn the situation around, with free, ad-supported plans being one of them. According to The Hollywood Reporter, co-CEO Ted Sarandos has confirmed the plans.

“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,’” Sarandos said at Cannes Lions. “We adding an ad tier; we’re not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We’re adding an ad tier for folks who say, ‘Hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch ads.’”

Given this would be Netflix’s first foray into ad-supported media, there’s infrastructure and development that needs to be done to make it work. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company is looking to either Google or NBCUniversal to help it roll out its ad platform.