Free Netflix? The company evaluates a model with ads to expand its audience

Netflix There has been some internal discussion about whether to offer a free subscription plan to its service in certain markets, in line with traditional ad-supported television channels and to reach a wider audience.

The platform tested a free subscription plan for smartphones in Kenya that gave access to a limited catalog of content without ads, in order to encourage people to try the service and subscribe to a paid modality.

This contact was withdrawn last year, but its viability in larger markets has been discussed internally, as a way to increase its audience, as sources familiar with these plans have shared with Bloomberg.

Although it is not a project that has yet moved beyond the talks phase, managers have proposed the creation of a free version in markets such as Europe or Asia, especially where there are already free television networks that sell advertising.

Behind this possibility there is also an advertising business, in which Netflix has joined with the standard plan with ads, but under a slightly different approach than that introduced by competing platforms, such as Disney and Amazon, more veterans in the sector. , as pointed out by the aforementioned media.

Thus, compared to the Netflix modality, which offers a cheaper plan with a reduced catalog and ads, the other two platforms have incorporated ads for all subscribers and urge them to pay more to remove them. Therefore, the free plan on Netflix would be seen as an incentive among people who cannot afford the cost of the subscription and for the creation of more advertising inventory.