It’s been some time since Netflix seeks to fight the leak of the subscribers, and the sharing the line (which was for a time tolerated). Faced with these problems, the company proposed several solutions and strengthens its defenses. One of its new offerings seems not to please everyone at United States, but still, it’s a real success in France.
Netflix: a divisive offer?
Lately, the world is laughing yellow at the big red N. Fans of Netflix original series can’t even get excited after the (very) many series cancellations in recent years. They reach a state of weariness with this observation: a new Netflix series is very likely to never have a season 2. And since 2023, not only has account sharing become more difficult, but in addition, this new paid option of the platform makes subscribers cringe even more.
On November 3, Netflix launched a new formula “Netflix Essential Ad“. This one, for the modest sum of €5.99 per month, gives you access to an “underperforming” version of Netflix. Basically, you have advertising between your episodes or during your films, you are only entitled to content in HD and the catalog is reduced. It also becomes impossible to download for viewing in offline mode. A low-cost offer that does not seem to please everyone, except the French, reveals the OTT barometer NPA Conseil / Harris Interactive. End December, 1.4 million French people have chosen this new offer, representing 3 out of 5 users of new subscribers, for 2 out of 5 users who re-subscribe. This tariff, much more aggressive, convinces France. Currently, Netflix is the leader on the French SVOD market with more than 10.5 million subscribers.
Netflix: the French prefer advertising
This offer seems adapted to the budgets of the French fully affected by the rise in prices. In January, inflation reached 5.3% according to INSEE and estimates for 2023 are pessimistic. An offer allowing access to a large quantity of entertainment at low prices becomes the best compromise for a large part of the population, even if it is less good and full of publicity. It might even fight account sharing. In September, a Netflix executive estimated the number of French households using the service without paying at 5 million.. A figure refuted by the company later. This will explain that this is an extrapolation of the estimate made for the whole world.
Elsewhere in the world, the story is different. Always at the end of December, the Wall Street Journal painted a disappointing picture of this new offer at €5.99. In his lines, we could read that only 9% of new Netflix subscribers preferred the option with ads. A figure well below the company’s expectations. In addition, the Wall Street Journal also reports that 43% of Netflix re-subscriptions have chosen to migrate to the cheaper offer. A lower figure than in France. The question now remains whether the advertising offered to subscribers will be more profitable than the loss generated by the migration of users to the cheaper version. And given Netflix’s dominant position in the world of SVOD, we can expect the price of a second of advertising to be very high.
