Rumors that Netflix will “subsidize” the cost of subscriptions have been circulating for months now, hinting that users will have to “endure” mere ad breaks and then receive access to the entire catalog of content.
Except, in practice this won’t be the case, as Netflix subscribers who choose the partially ad-subsidized subscription option only get partial access to the content available on Netflix, and are left to “endure” the inserted ads without the “Skip” button.
The even worse news is that Netflix continues to lose a lot of subscribers month after month. So by the time the new subsidized ad-supported rate plan is introduced things could change again, in ways still unthinkable to fans of the platform.
For now, the expectations of those wanting cheaper subscriptions are tempered even by Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who clarified that the new rate plan doesn’t even include access to all of the platform’s licensed content. That’s because, according to the same Ted Sarandos, for the plan to work all the way through would require new deals with movie studios, which could take many months to negotiate, not ruling out the possibility that these requests could simply be rejected.
However, it appears that Netflix original movies and series will also be available on this new pricing plan, with exceptions being rather ad hoc and limited to certain highly sought-after productions.