Netflix has launched a formula with advertisements which is struggling to seduce across the Atlantic. In France, however, success is there, 1.4 million people having opted for this less expensive offer. Among them, there are a majority of newcomers.
On November 3, Netflix launched its new formula with ads. For a more attractive price of € 5.99 per month, it distills announcements at the start of the program but also during viewing. A few weeks later, what conclusions can we draw from this offer? Did it appeal to subscribers (new or existing)? At the end of December, the wall street journal painted a gloomy picture for the package, stating that only 9% of new American subscribers had opted for the new Netflix formula.
But the reception is much better in France. As revealed by the OTT NPA Conseil/Harris Interactive Barometer, 1.4 million French people had set their sights on the “Netflix Essential with ads” package at the end of December. Three out of five users would also be new subscribers. An indicator that suggests that the more aggressive price has convinced some undecided consumers.
Netflix: the offer with advertising attracts new French subscribers
As a reminder, the Netflix Essential offer with advertising involves limitations. Apart from the advertisement which regularly pours during viewing, it only includes HD content and does not offer download for offline viewing. What’s more, not all movies and series are available in this low-cost Netflix formula.
More generally, Netflix is consolidating its leading position in the French SVOD market with more than 10.5 million subscribers to its credit. If we take into account the people who share an account with each other, the number of users is bound to skyrocket. A Netflix France executive assured in September that 5 million French households used the service without paying. However, it had been challenged by the company, which stated that this number was only an extrapolation of the estimate made for the whole world.
Either way, the red N has signaled the end of the playtime, with moves planned to end Netflix account sharing which is costing it a lot of money.
