‘Hmmm, it doesn’t look like it’s best to watch a movie and suddenly there are ads.’
The United States (US) streaming giant, Netflix Inc, which has been offering ‘ads-free’ viewing services, had to comply with inserting ads to cover expenses despite the decline in the number of users.
It is rumored that Netflix is taking seriously the plan to include ads and is actively collaborating with several companies led by NBCUniversal under Comcast Corp. and Google -owned Alphabet Inc.
According to sources, Comcast's video advertising division, Freewheel, will help Netflix provide all the technology to deliver ads in their service.
In addition, NBCUniversal's sales team will be assigned to support the streaming company in selling advertising in the US and Europe.
On Google's side, Alphabet Inc will continue to provide advertising purchasing tools as contained in the previously signed agreement.
Even so, both Comcast Corp and Alphabet have yet to make any further statements on the advertising.
In general, Netflix faces various challenges entering 2022 with a decline in the number of active users, the issue of war in Ukraine and increased competition.
The company's financial performance for the first quarter of 2022 (1Q22) was seen as not very encouraging, where it not only recorded a decline in the number of consumers but also its share price fell to the level before the pandemic hit.
During the announcement of the inclusion of ads in the Netflix viewing service, the company’s shares rose slightly 5% but remained low this year.
Not to be forgotten is the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war that caused the company to withdraw from the Moscow market also affected the number of customers, in addition to continuing to be flanked by the fierce competition of TikTok's increasingly popular short video service.
Meanwhile, the move to include ads in the company's services starting later this year is one of Netflix's plans, apart from preventing account sharing between users.
