Netflix CEO regrets previously resisting ads

Share post:

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings stated that the company should have entered the advertising market sooner after resisting the idea for years. He also stated that he was slow to embrace advertising on the streaming platform because he was preoccupied with digital competition from Facebook and Google.

According to Hastings, Hulu demonstrated that streaming services could support advertising while also offering lower prices to customers. In addition to Hulu, Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Paramount Global’s Paramount+, and others already provide lower-cost, ad-supported options. Disney+ intends to launch a lower-cost, ad-supported tier while increasing the price of its commercial-free option and other streaming services.

“I didn’t believe in the ad-supported tactic for us. I was wrong about that. Hulu proved you could do that at scale and offer customers lower prices. We did switch on that,” Hastings said at The New York Times’ Dealbook conference. “I wish we had flipped a few years earlier on that, but we’ll catch up.”

According to Hastings, the reversal came after some convincing from Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann, as well as slowing subscription growth.

Netflix previously stated that it was open to the idea of advertisements in April, and it went on to launch in the United States earlier this month for $6.99 per month in collaboration with Microsoft.

The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Related articles

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Retires Amid Record Losses and Ongoing Restructuring

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has announced his retirement effective December 1, marking the end of a challenging tenure...

Qualcomm Explores Potential Acquisition of Intel

In a shocking turn of events in the semiconductor industry, Qualcomm has, as reported in the New York...

Intel’s contract manufacturing hits setback with quality issues

Intel’s contract manufacturing business has encountered a major setback after silicon wafers produced for Broadcom failed to meet...

Dell has another major round of layoffs

Dell has initiated another round of layoffs, affecting a significant number of employees, including long-term company veterans. HR...

Become a member

New, Relevant Tech Stories. Our article selection is done by industry professionals. Our writers summarize them to give you the key takeaways