Will they or won’t they? That’s the question on the mind of every Netflix subscriber, asking whether the streaming service will adopt advertising on their platform.
Despite having repeatedly denied that they would introduce advertising on the platform in the past, Netflix now seems more open to the idea of allowing outside companies to have a voice on their streaming service. According to industry experts, recent advancements in the stock market have seen Netflix enter into a space that grants them a better opportunity and greater engagement in the ad space.
As Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein wrote: “Netflix is in a unique position to aggregate large audiences and control the timing of series launches for top-tier advertisers, commanding high [cost per thousand views]”.
The expert is expecting the streaming service’s ad revenue to reach $4.6 billion by 2025, totalling an overall revenue of $42.4 billion, though this could indeed drop significantly if subscribers don’t take to the change in Netflix’s interface. Despite this, Helfstein spoke of the long-term positivity of advertising.
Continuing, Helfstein stated: “If you think about what Netflix can do, they actually have the ability to time the launches of shows in the best interest of their top advertisers… this is pretty unique in the scope of advertising, which in itself is a pretty mature industry”.
Such predictions are just that, however, with a Netflix spokesperson stating: “We are still in the early days of deciding how to launch a lower-priced, ad-supported tier and no decisions have been made…So this is all just speculation at this point”.
