Netflix is pushing customers to sign up for its basic ad-free tier, though it suggests it would never do so.
As streaming industry insider Andrew Freedman (opens in a new tab) discovered (and was first reported by Cord Busters (opens in a new tab)), Netflix tries to encourage potential subscribers to opt-out. registration in your ad base. level, instead of its traditional base level.
Previously, Netflix customers browsing the Netflix signup page - opens in a new tab - were given 4 tiers to choose from: basic with ads, basic, standard, and premium. The last 3 are ad-free, which means viewers aren't going to have to watch 5 minutes of ads for every hour of Netflix content they watch.
Now, however, those looking to purchase a subscription only have 3 tiers to choose from, with the monthly base tier of €99 / €XNUMX / INR XNUMX / AU €XNUMX at no cost. side.
Or so it seems. The basic level of Netflix is still free to buy; You just have to dig a little to find it.
Specifically, you'll need to scroll down until you see fine print that says "Want more options?" 'See each and every plan'. Click on the text of the link and you will access an almost identical registration page, which includes the basic level without ads. This tier is a bit more expensive than the ad-supported option, but you won't have to go through the ads and you will be able to download the best Netflix shows, the best Netflix movies and the best Netflix reports on the internet. your choice. This level also allows you to watch Netflix content offline.
Entonces, cuál es el inconveniente? Netflix's basic tiers only offer 720p resolution, so most viewers will opt for the estándar or premium tiers, which give you better video quality, higher resolution, and other goodies. -No are?
Not necessarily. The present cost of living crisis means that consumers have to make essential decisions about how to spend their money. That includes streaming subscriptions, whether they're TV and movie platforms, or music streams like Spotify, they're likely to keep them up or down.
With people needing to make money or, in some cases, even having trouble paying their bills, a cheap, albeit ad-supported, subscription to the best streaming service on the planet will likely appeal to some. . As a result, Netflix might feel that it is acting in the best interest of users by putting its most affordable subscription tier first. As we mentioned, the company's entry-level ad-free costs more than its ad-free cousin, so why wouldn't Netflix push this one in times of economic insecurity?
The downside, however, lies in the way Netflix promotes its basic ad-free tier. By actively hiding its basic ad-free tier, Netflix is reducing consumer choice on its own sign-up page. This could be considered poor user service, as it prevents potential subscribers from seeing any and all options available to them.
It's a move that also goes against what Netflix's management team told its shareholders. During Netflix's XNUMX third-quarter earnings call, Greg Peters, Netflix's chief operating officer and chief product officer, asserted that the streaming giant would take a "pro-consumer approach" (according to specialist at financial consulting The Motley Fool (opens in a new tab)) to give users their subscription options.
"As we've stated before, we're not really trying to steer our members toward one plan or another," Peters said. "We try to take a pro-consumer approach and let them locate and land on the plane that's right for them... And we really anticipate that it's going to be a pro-consumer model that's going to be more appealing, it's going to attract more members because the cost of costs to the consumer is low."
So @HedgeyeComm is clearly one of the sharpest psyches, and has probably seen the most "non-user" thing I've ever seen them do. Essentially, they hide their fourth plan on their signup page: pic .twitter.com/edqD7ky51c Jan 2023, XNUMX
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Peters made the comments after Netflix posted a net increase of XNUMX million subscribers in the third quarter of XNUMX, which followed consecutive financial quarters in which the company lost millions of customers to the service and then canceled multiple shows. Developing. So, at the time, it seemed like Netflix was driven by its subscriber-based turnaround and wanted to sustain that positivity by telling investors what they wanted to hear.
And yet here we are, 4 months after that earnings call, with Netflix burying one of their subscription levels in the fine print on their signup page. So what has it altered? The popularity (or rather unpopularity) of Netflix's ad-based entry level.
As we reported on January 4, analysis by research firm Antenna suggested that adoption of Netflix's ad-supported tier has been slow; impressively indeed, with only XNUMX% of new US subscribers signing up for this particular plan in the XNUMX months since launch.
Despite the slow start, Netflix's president of global advertising, Jeremi Gorman, suggested that the company was "pleased with the development we're seeing" (according to TechCrunch (opens in a new tab)) and expected further adoption in the coming months. in the coming months as the ad-supported tier rolls out to other areas of the planet.
Reading between the lines, it seems that Netflix is not as happy as it claims. The patent suggests that it drives potential subscribers to purchase its basic ad-based tier from its ad-free tier, which directly contradicts the company's previous comments on usability. It's not pretty, Netflix, and you know it.
We've reached out to Netflix for an official comment on why their basic ad-free tier has been hidden on their signup page. We will update this article if we receive a response.
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