The streaming wars have been getting intense. Early this year, Netflix lost 200,000 million subscribers and then again reported an additional 1 million subscriber loss in the second quarter. Once regarded as the king of streaming, now is currently struggling to retain subscribers and turn a profit. 

To turn the tide, the streamer had taken drastic efforts. The firm laid off employees, stopped password sharing and went against its lifelong policy to introduce ads. The streamer had long prided itself on revolutionizing the streaming market and doing away with intrusive ads. However, since Disney has already dethroned Netflix as the biggest streaming platform at present, the streamer in its last effort has set a launch date for its ad-supported tier way earlier than scheduled.

Netflix is to introduce ads on November 1

Netflix first announced that it was planning to introduce a new cheaper tier in April 2022. It had planned to launch it in early 2023, however, there have been new developments. Now the company has moved ahead with its plans. Instead of launching it in early 2023, an ad-supported model will get introduced on Nov 1. The streamer plans to roll it out simultaneously in Canada, US, UK, France, and Germany.

The streamer hasn’t released a price bracket yet. It can cost anywhere between $7 to $9. Movies will have pre-roll ads, while for series, the streamer will have four minutes of ads per hour. 

In July, Netflix had chosen Microsoft as its global advertising technology and sales partner. It had also requested the ad buyers to send in their bids by mid-August at CPMs of $65. They plan to lock in the bids at an early date so that they stay on schedule. 

Disney, on the other hand, will roll out ads on December 8. The cheaper ad-supported plan will cost $7.99/ month and is renamed Disney + Basic. Currently, Disney’s $7.99/ month plan will see its cost increase to $10.99/ month and will get renamed Disney + Premium.

Do you think Netflix has a chance to beat Disney with this new strategy?