Netflix could launch the ad-supported tier later this year, ahead of the previous plan

Netflix is ​​ramping up its incredibly sudden hype, signaling to employees that it could launch a cheaper, ad-supported tier of its streaming service by the end of 2022.

Potential new times will be much faster than the 1-2 year forecast the company offered in a surprise quarterly earnings interview with co-CEO Reed Hastings last month. The new perspective was given to employees in the memo, the report released this morning said. უ New York TimesWho attributed this information to two unidentified infiltrators.

“Yes, it’s fast and ambitious and requires some compromises,” the statement said. Times.

A company representative had no further comment when contacted by Deadline.

Shares of Netflix plummeted to around two-thirds of the company’s market value after posting disappointing results twice this year.

The ad-supported streaming market is booming, with the IAB seeing a 57% increase in TV ad spend in 2021 over the previous year. Meanwhile, the pressure on Netflix is ​​mounting to keep up with the growing number of subscribers. With 222 million global subscribers, the company continues to lead the industry, but recorded its first customer loss in 11 years last quarter and hinted in that quarter that it could lose another 2 million.

Management has long indicated that the available market for its services, which it acknowledges has matured in the United States, is 1 billion households. Many Wall Street analysts believe the correct number is not even half, and the perception that Netflix has hit a wall in terms of growth has cooled the backbone of the streaming crowd.

Many new competitors like Disney + and HBO Max have advertised as a supplement to subscription revenue, Disney’s cheapest plan is up and running with HBO Max ads about a year into existence. Other new players, such as Peacock, Paramount +, and Discovery +, have ad-free subscription plans. Amazon Prime Video is now launching live sports ads, leaving Apple TV + and Netflix as the only major ad-free streaming service.

Consumer surveys, particularly due to rising inflation in 2022, indicate a high degree of price sensitivity when it comes to streaming. Netflix is ​​the most expensive service on the market at $ 15.49 per month for its most popular plan. Rather than just the price, however, Hastings said he decided to change his previous stance against advertising in part because the technology, in his opinion, was developed enough to provide a seamless user experience.