Another man down! Nexflix has begun to experiment with pre-roll and post-roll ads. While these ads are currently focused on Netflix’s own original programming like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, niche markets are starting to see advertising before or after streaming content. Netflix hasn’t sold 3rd party advertising, but as we’ve seen with streaming services like Soundcloud, it seems almost inevitable. Hulu currently shows a mixture of 3rd party advertising as well as its original programming content. While there are rumors that Netflix may transition to a low cost ad-supported and a higher priced ad-free model, Netflix assures its viewers that for now, pre-roll and post-roll ads are just a test and may never become a wide-spread thing.
Netflix profits are fairly low at the moment, making 3rd party advertising seem likely. However, the company is eager to reap the benefits of global expansion once the process is complete in 2017. According to the CEO in an article from Business Insider, “Our international expansion strategy over the last few years has been to expand as fast as we can while staying profitable on a global basis. Progress has been so strong that we now believe we can complete our global expansion over the next two years, while staying profitable, which is earlier than we expected.” If this is to be believed, 3rd party advertising may never materialize into an actual mode of profit, which would be impressive for a company in the 2010s.
We can only hope that Netflix will maintain the level of content and quality we so thoroughly enjoy. Binge watching House of Cards will never be the same with interrupting PSAs from Pampers.
from Carl Nelson France http://ift.tt/1Q3wcio