The cheapest Netflix subscription won’t show ads in all productions you watch. What are the conditions

Netflix has already confirmed that it will “cut out” some features for subscribers who opt for the ad-funded pricing plan. What we didn’t know until now is that ads won’t even appear on every movie or series selected for viewing. Conveniently the exceptions are aimed precisely at the productions you’ll want to see.

Having learned that future Netflix subscriptions with partial ad-supported pricing involve trade-offs other than time wasted waiting for ad breaks to end, we now also learn what concessions are offered to users who choose this payment option.

According to information picked up by Bloomberg journalists, Netflix will exempt newly released movies from ad insertion, with ads appearing some time after the release. It’s unclear at the moment what the time frame is, but the move appears to be to reassure filmmakers who feared Netflix would become like traditional cable TV, with ad breaks pinching the experience they’d like to convey to viewers.

Apparently, Netflix’s children’s productions are now joining the list of exceptions, this time allaying parents’ fears that the platform will turn into a kind of “teleshopping” with irresistible advertising messages to young audiences, as has already happened with the cartoon channels available through cable TV services. In fact, in this case it would be the objections of some of the creators of children’s shows or movies who would not want to see their licensed productions “polluted” with other commercials from which they have nothing to gain. In this situation, Netflix could “fudge” the objections received by showing ads only before and after the production in question has ended.

Another impediment for Netflix would be the licensing agreements themselves, as much of the content on the platform cannot be padded with ads without risking legal action from copyright holders. At best, Netflix would have to direct 10-15% of the revenue that was supposed to offset the price of subscriptions directly to licensees, rounding out their revenues without achieving the purpose for which ad-supported subscriptions were intended in the first place.

What is certain is that Netflix also has backers in its plan, with Microsoft already confirming a partnership that will see it provide the technical infrastructure to deliver and manage ads.