Netflix Is Still Saying 'No' To Ads (techcrunch.com) 65
"During its Q4 earnings call, Netflix shot down the idea of an ad-supported option for its service," writes Slashdot reader saccade.com. TechCrunch reports: "Google and Facebook and Amazon are tremendously powerful at online advertising because they're integrating so much data from so many sources. There's a business cost to that, but that makes the advertising more targeted and effective. So I think those three are going to get most of the online advertising business," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said. To grow a $5 billion to $10 billion advertising business, you'd need to "rip that away" from the existing providers [such as Facebook, Amazon Google], he continued. And stealing online advertising business from [them] is "quite challenging," Hastings added, saying "there's not easy money there."
"We've got a much simpler business model, which is just focused on streaming and customer pleasure," he said. The CEO also noted that Netflix's strategic decision to not enter the ad business has its upsides, in terms of the controversies that surround companies that collect personal data on their users. To compete, Netflix would have to track more data on its subscribers, including things like their location -- that's not something it's interested in doing, he said, calling it "exploiting users." "We don't collect anything. We're really focused on just making our members happy," Hastings stated. "We think with our model that we'll actually get to larger revenue, larger profits, larger market cap because we don't have the exposure to something that we're strategically disadvantaged at -- which is online advertising against those big three," he said. TechCrunch points out that Netflix does track viewership data, overall viewing trends, and users' own interactions with its service. It also recently introduced a new "chose to watch" viewership metric.
"However, none of this viewership tracking is on the scale of big tech's data collection practices, which is what Hastings meant by his comment," the report says.
"We've got a much simpler business model, which is just focused on streaming and customer pleasure," he said. The CEO also noted that Netflix's strategic decision to not enter the ad business has its upsides, in terms of the controversies that surround companies that collect personal data on their users. To compete, Netflix would have to track more data on its subscribers, including things like their location -- that's not something it's interested in doing, he said, calling it "exploiting users." "We don't collect anything. We're really focused on just making our members happy," Hastings stated. "We think with our model that we'll actually get to larger revenue, larger profits, larger market cap because we don't have the exposure to something that we're strategically disadvantaged at -- which is online advertising against those big three," he said. TechCrunch points out that Netflix does track viewership data, overall viewing trends, and users' own interactions with its service. It also recently introduced a new "chose to watch" viewership metric.
"However, none of this viewership tracking is on the scale of big tech's data collection practices, which is what Hastings meant by his comment," the report says.
Bummer (Score:5, Funny)
I was just thinking I haven't seen enough ads lately. Hopefully they change their policy.
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Now if Netflix could figure out how to make shows most people want to watch, they'd have it made. Their previous appeal of having a wide selection of shows other people made available to those who want to watch them appears to be diminishing rapidly.
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The new streaming reality is different. People are not sticking with one streaming service, nor are the majority using more than one (forget the delusions of the pigopolists) they are going through them on rotation. I dropped Netflix but I will be back, Amazon are being dicks in Australia dumping old model firestick for new model price and blocking the new model from deliveries and disney+ (they scammed people with year long subscriptions and then dropped content) is just for kids, so I will skip both of th
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If there's a free or I'm a cheap stake option (Score:3)
then sure why not but yah no ads for fill paid service. I just started to use Prime and fuck me 1/2 through the movie they threw in ads for their other shows. Yah fuck off.
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Yah was watching Oblivion and bam 1/2 way through they stopped the moved and showed an ad for one of their shows. Pissed me right off. There should be 0 ads that's what I paid for (well didn't read the fine print)
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For stuff like Prime where they force ads even if you pay I usually just grab a better quality pirate copy. It's not that I'm unwilling to pay for it, it's that I can't in good conscience encourage double-dipping.
Ads are cancer. (Score:5, Insightful)
"Google and Facebook and Amazon are tremendously powerful at online advertising because they're integrating so much data from so many sources. There's a business cost to that, but that makes the advertising more targeted and effective."
Is that why amazon is so keen on delivering ads for things I've already purchased? Or maybe they aren't, and they're just showing me a highlight reel of my recent purchases (in ad format). Either way, they don't seem to be doing much good.
That said, if Netflix is potentially forgoing revenue by not instituting ads, the customer goodwill more than makes up for it. Ads represent an attempt to manipulate people into buying shit they almost certainly could live without -- so kudos to netflix for resisting the urge to attempt to monetize every little thing they can get away with.
Re:Ads are cancer. (Score:5, Insightful)
> if Netflix is potentially forgoing revenue by not instituting ads
I think this is backwards. Netflix would LOSE revenue if they instituted ads as it would annoy a certain percentage of their users to the point they'd leave. I am completely annoyed at how Prime bombards me with ads and the mid movie ones (!) are ridiculous. I only watch stuff on Prime because I get it free with Prime shipping, there's no way I'd actually pay for that.
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Personally, I'm happy they chose not to go that way.
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> They could do a free option.
I doubt they'd get enough ad revenue to make that viable. Nobody else has a completely free option with ads AFAIK. Hulu's ad-supported option still costs money, just not as much.
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That's if you're thinking to support full netflix with ads. I think Netflix's cheapest plan is $10/month, the free option would likely have to offer some mix like single HD stream but with TV like ads at the beginning, during and end of programs.
Netflix can also make the ads unskippable and get metrics on everything, including those
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I'd argue that it might be hurting them. Showing people things just like they already purchased seems like it would increase the likelihood of buyers remorse ("oh, I should have bought that one instead!") and make people more likely to do deeper research before actually pulling the trigger on something.
Now, if they could do a better job of recommending a
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Oh there's still ads on Netflix even currently, but they're just subtle about it. Product placement is everywhere. Cars, consoles, drink-brands, etc. Hell, Stranger Things boosted the sales of Eggo by 14 % in a year. [businessinsider.com] and the latest season had a scene that was basically an all-out ad for Coca-Cola that coke is taking full advantage of. [metro.co.uk]
The old truth about marketing is that it tends to
Annoyed enough with other pay stream networks (Score:2)
There are already forced pre-movie ads and automatic episodes of their series run after movies on Starz. That kind of shit is the reason I cancelled it. No, I do not give a shit about your one show you have that you think is urban and hip.
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Collecting data? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm happy for Netflix to collect viewing data from my account and profile. That's how I get recommended interesting programmes and movies and not Peppa Pig!
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What I wish for and have given feedback to them of is a nice STATIC set of categories that don't change on a daily basis so I can easily view the genre I feel like watching.
Click either 'TV Shows' or 'Movies' at the top, and then just below click 'Genre'
The listed genres do not change often at all.
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1. tap "TV Shows" or "Movies" at the top
2. tap the lightly greyed out "All Genres" drop down menu
3. select appropriate genre
seems to work for me.
I guess the other services are just greedy (Score:5, Insightful)
But I greatly appreciate Netflix not throwing 8-10 minutes of advertisements per hour into everything they serve.
If they offered a free option with ads, it would be ok for those who use it. But paying for a "service" and still having ads is a no-go for me.
Soon... (Score:2)
"Geralt, we must go before the city gets attacked!"
"Just a moment, i must finish my turn in Raid: Shadow legends! the greatest mobile RPG of the decade! if you sign now, you will get 80000 gold, silver and the exclusive witcher armor!"
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"Just a moment, i must finish my turn in Raid: Shadow legends! the greatest mobile RPG of the decade! if you sign now, you will get 80000 gold, silver and the exclusive witcher armor!"
Lost opportunity, could have gone with Roach armor as a call back to Bethesdas paid DLC :P
all or nothing? (Score:1)
Why not make it an option? For example, you can get a 20% discount if you live with ads.
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If netflix introduced ads (even for a $0 monthly plan) -- they will almost certainly creep into the paid plans as well (Probably starting out as a 30 second ad once episode)
Once you introduce ads onto a platform, it's just another form of revenue they'll try to maximize. Remember that cable started out being 'ad free' -- and look where that got us.
I imagine the boardroom conversation being something along the lines of:
MBA drone : "well if 10 minutes of ads bring in X dollars, we're leaving Y dollars on the
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That appears to be a slippery-slope type of argument.
It does, however, remind me of an old Dilbert cartoon where the PHB (boss) announces a free on-premises health-care clinic for workers.
Later, the doctors are let go for "budget reasons", and there are only nurses on duty. Eventually the nurses are let go and a vending machine of free medical supplies is offered.
Then the vending machine is made coin operated t
Re: all or nothing? (Score:2)
That's not even the real problem, as there's no real guarantee it would ever spill into full-priced plans. The real problem is that ad-supported content is cut and edited and even written and produced differently.
Ad-supported content is trite and artistically worthless 99 times out of 100.
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. Remember that cable started out being 'ad free' -- and look where that got us.
That's incorrect, but somehow repeated ad nauseam.
Cable started out simply as a re-transmission of OTA networks. With all their commercials included.
You may be referring to channels developed solely for cable (like HBO), but those didn't exist in the beginning, and when they did come online the network channels still remained.
Cable always had commercials.
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. Remember that cable started out being 'ad free' -- and look where that got us.
That's incorrect, but somehow repeated ad nauseam.
Cable started out simply as a re-transmission of OTA networks. With all their commercials included.
You may be referring to channels developed solely for cable (like HBO), but those didn't exist in the beginning, and when they did come online the network channels still remained.
Cable always had commercials.
Some cable was ad-free at the least, like HBO's subscription service. But then Ted Turner launched TBS on cable systems, and it had ads. By the time MTV/ESPN/USA launched, they all launched with commercials. But I remember it was promoted as being such in earlier 1980s to gain support. That was the tradeoff -- why would someone want to PAY for TV? Because it didn't have ads. But you'd sign up and there were ads anyway.
Ahoy me mateys (Score:5, Interesting)
I get netflix ads! (Score:4, Funny)
The danger of ads (Score:4, Insightful)
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it's hard to see any alternative that doesn't trample on freedom.
It's right in front of you - the direct subscriber system. Only some companies get greedy and want to make even more money - like the Cable companies did in the late 80's. They charged for subscription AND sold spots for ad revenue as well. Netflix made $1.2 billion in profits last year. That's plenty of money - and they keep their independence.
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To an extent linear TV channels have the same problem now, there are so many of them clamouring for attention.
And they all show the same fucking programs over and over and over, even in the same day, repeating every 4 to 6 hours. More than half the time a given show is a re-run of something I saw recently on the same channel. Hell ID has been running some of the same commercials (for their stupid programs) for over 2 years now. Plus their shows have absolutely zero content. They'll show a segment, then have a whole bunch of ads for the same shows you've seen a million times, then in the next segment fully half of i
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I'm sometimes surprised that linear TV channels even still exist, but I guess there are a lot of people who have not switched the streaming and probably won't for a very, very long time yet.
What about the converse? (Score:2)
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if I see ads I leave Netflix. (Score:2)
Ad advert is viewed by me as some wanker rudely interrupting my viewing and they can just go screw themselves because I will NOT be buying what shit they are selling.
First Advert I see on Netflix they will loose my money, I will vote with my wallet and my feet.
Amazons ads piss me off and they are just hawking their own shows, but its enough that I rarely watch Amazon and I only have it because it come free with my internet connection.
90% of our TV watching is Netflix be
Don't collect anything? (Score:1)
>"tNetflix would have to track more data on its subscribers, including things like their location -- that's not something it's interested in doing, he said, calling it "exploiting users." "We don't collect anything. "
Sorry. I generally like Netflix (although their UI *SUCKS*). But what a silly nonsense statement (which TechCrunch rightfully points out). Of course they "collect" and store information. They know my name, my address, my Email address, my IP address, what movies and programs I watch, how
If Netflix shows ads, Netflix dies. (Score:2)
Simple as that.
They don't track location? Sure. (Score:1)
To compete, Netflix would have to track more data on its subscribers, including things like their location -- that's not something it's interested in doing, he said, calling it "exploiting users."
Netflix most certainly already tracks location data, it's one of the ways they try and track down people sharing passwords. I use the service of someone else in my household, but I commute to work so many times I am using the service from a location outside our home address. The account owner has been bothered by Netflix multiple times about the number of devices authorized, and my usage at my job, they send email suggesting the account has been hacked or otherwise compromised and prompt them to reset the p
A single ad in the middle of a show = Cancel (Score:1)
I don't have Amazon prime, but if Netflix started showing ad-breaks (or promo-breaks) in the middle of a show, I'd cancel immediately.
If they started unskippable pre-roll ads or some that after a skip would buffer before showing the requested content, I'd consider cancelling as well.
The only reason I have Netflix is to have entertainment free of interruptions a few times a month. They already have that Age-overlay at the start of each show and mess with the end-credits. So if the experience gets any worse,
Ads for a free netflix service (Score:3)
Some people think this is about showing ads to people who pay a monthly subscription, but this is about providing a free netflix service that shows you ads (and no ads when you subscribe), just like spotify does.
I don't think you need tracking and all that privacy invading nonsense for showing ads. TV's show ads and they have no information at all. Netflix already knows the show you are watching (no tracking needed for that), so they could basically shows ads which target an audiance that watches such shows, that is already much more then what TV can do.
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So an ad-support Netflix kinda makes sense for those unwilling or unable to pay the regular fee
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What I actually hate though is we don't get a bigger buffering window with Premium. Every week I listen to either music or podcasts on the way to a friend's house, and the video stops playing for 3 minutes
netflix-is-still-saying-no-to-ads (Score:1)
Netflix should add ads... (Score:3)
Amazon Prime Video is the toy in the Cracker Jack Box of free shipping. Even though I pay for Prime, I don't see it as paying for the video, because even without the video, I'd still pay for Prime because it's a lot less expensive than paying for the shipping on each purchase.
Phase 1 (Score:2)
Phase 1: No ads with our service - ever!
Phase 2: Get ads - or - pay extra
Phase 3: Get ads AND pay extra
No ads ever! (Score:1)
Tried out Youtube TV, saw ads (Score:2)
LOL. Cancelled. It was very hard to find the "cancel button" but I found it. Netflix still decent, keeping it going.
Netflix (Score:1)