In the United States, Netflix has also been struggling to maintain subscribers amid the rise of other options like Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, NBC’s Peacock, and more.
Although Netflix has recently been bolstered by new seasons of both Bridgerton and fan-favorite Stranger Things, the streamer will be changing its model and introducing an ad-supported tier — like Disney+ is also doing — in January 2023.
However, unlike Disney+, Netflix could be creating licensed shows that are only available to those on higher tier plans. Furthermore, the streamer may “clear” — read: remove — some series and movies for ad-supported accounts.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently said that the company is in talks with studios to be able to offer licensed movies and television shows to the ad-supported tier — though if this doesn’t pan out, he still thinks the cheaper plan will be worth it:
Today the vast majority of what people watch on Netflix we can include in the ad supported tier today. There are some things that don’t [currently appear on the ad-supported tier] that we we’re in in conversation with the studios on, but if we launched the product today the members in the ad tier have a great experience and we will clear some additional content but certainly not all so we’re looking but we don’t think it’s a material holdback to the business.”
It is not known if cornerstone series like Stranger Things are part of the ongoing conversations, but since Sarandos specifically mentioned licensed content, it is likely that all Netflix Original series — including the Millie Bobby Brown-led show — will be available to all subscribers.
What do you think about Netflix changing its subscription model and potentially removing content for some subscribers?
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Credit: Netflix
