You're somewhat split over an ad-supported Netflix plan
Netflix made headlines this week after it announced a drop of around 200,000 subscribers and a crackdown on password sharing. It wasn’t all bad news though, as the firm also said it was working on a cheaper, ad-supported plan.
This got us wondering whether Android Authority readers would hop on this plan. So we posted a poll earlier this week, and here’s how you voted in it.
Will you downgrade to a cheaper ad-supported Netflix plan?
Results
Over 3,000 votes were counted, and it turns out that 46.68% of polled readers say they don’t plan to downgrade from their current Netflix plans. A couple of reader comments suggest that they simply wouldn’t pay for a streaming service that includes ads as well, suggesting that these readers think ad-supported content should be free to watch.
Almost 27% of respondents said they would switch from their current plan to an ad-supported Netflix plan, making it the second-most popular choice here. In third place was the camp saying they’d think about it, accruing 19.6% of the vote. We’re guessing that these respondents are waiting for details around pricing, the frequency of ads, and other features before taking the plunge.
More coverage: The best movies worth watching on Netflix
Finally, ~7% of respondents said they don’t have Netflix but would go for a cheaper, ad-supported plan. In other words, it sounds like an ad-supported plan would attract some people that wouldn’t have subscribed in the first place.
When we look at it another way, just over 46% of polled readers say they would either switch to the cheaper plan or would at least think about it. This figure rises to 53% when you include respondents without Netflix that would opt for the ad-supported tier.
Comments
- Snorlax: If they get 2x speed & comment section, I’ll hop on the cheapest plan.
- Robert Buettner: When the failing streaming service has virtually none of the classic movies, no TV series, or hardly anything I’d want to watch, it’s obvious why I canceled them years ago. The old-school video stores (Blockbuster, et al) had more movies than Netflix now does! And the downward spiral continues. Folks can get ads for free, as opposed to paying Netflix anything for ads and poor selection.
- Brun0₂: Absolutely no. I don’t want ads on my streaming. That’s why I don’t watch TV. I don’t want streaming to end up back in the cable bundles having to pay way too much for crap I don’t like, and also getting ads. Netflix needs to better invest the little money they make in better content. They keep make garbage and then get surprised when people drop the subscription. Get better content that makes it worth paying for! That’s the solution.
- MicroNix: I don’t know if anyone remembers when cable TV first came out and was mostly commercial free, so I go on the premise that if I am -paying- a monthly fee for content, don’t you dare throw commercials at me. That’s why I gave cable TV the boot years ago. They got greedy and flooded content with the same amount of commercials that you had on normal free OTA TV. Not to mention 50% of their channels now are idiot infomercial junk. I find more interesting stuff on other cheaper or free streaming services anyway and Netflix is about to get the boot at their next price hike.
- Jawbox: They need to make one plan and make it cheaper, period. It’s simply gotten too expensive for the quality they are pushing out now. Need to scale back on quantity, stop trying to subsidize it by charging for more for HDR content, and stop the annual increases. Personally refuse to pay for content that also includes commercials (and likely records my habits anyway) but as some may be ok with that, let the consumer decide I guess.
- Tim Dodd: I’ve cancelled after 18 months on the top UHD package. Nothing to do with price. I can’t find a single thing I want to watch. And I’ve tried really hard! Amazon Prime is almost as bad in terms of interesting content, but much better value as a total package. I can’t see me returning to Netflix at any price. As for adverts – no way, José. Not that I’ll care now that I’m gone.
- EeZeEpEe: If that ad-supported plan included 4K streaming, sure. Really they need 4K to be in other tiers other than the most expensive.
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