Netflix with adverts launches in the UK for £4.99 per month

Netflix is hoping advertising can turn things around after losing millions of subscribers over the summer.

The streaming service has launched a cheaper, ad-supported subscription plan in the UK for just £4.99 per month.

The new option means significant savings for customers currently paying £6.99, £10.99 or £15.99 on one of the company’s three plans.

In return, viewers will be treated to adverts running between 15 or 30 seconds in length playing before and during series and films. There will be an average of four to five minutes of adverts per hour.

Crucially, about 5 to 10 per cent of Netflix’s programming will not be available on the ad-supported tier because of licensing restrictions.

Industry experts are watching to see what effect the new option has on Netflix’s fortunes, after the company announced plunging subscriber numbers earlier this year.

‘The new Netflix ad-supported tier will help the streamer to staunch the bleeding of its subscriber totals, but it will pull most users from the company’s existing user base instead of expanding the pool of Netflix viewers,’ said Peter Newman, a forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence.

‘Diversifying revenue sources by adding a small but growing advertising business to the mix will give Netflix room to reduce churn and keep those relationships similarly monetized when the customer is looking to downgrade.’

‘An ad-supported tier isn’t going to reverse Netflix’s fortunes overnight, though; even with rapid adoption over the next few years, this will likely remain a single-digit part of the company’s revenue, and will still be dependent on subscriptions.’

Earlier this year, the streamer increased the price of its basic and standard plan by £1 a month to £6.99 and £10.99 respectively, while the premium tier will go up by £2 to £15.99.

The company has also started to clamp down on customers sharing their accounts with other households.

Subscribe To ANE Talk Trends On Youtube

Subscribe To All Naija Entertainment On Youtube