Wednesday, 11th May 2022 at 11:09amAre ads coming to Netflix in 2022?

You’ve probably spotted Netflix in the news a few times in the last month. First it was for the unexpected loss of 200,000 subscribers, then they hit headlines for clamping down on password sharing and now there are whispers that ads are coming to the paid-for service sending the rumour mill into overdrive.

The drop in subscribers is the first time Netflix’s global viewership has ever decreased and explanations are flying about, ranging from deliberately freezing out Russian viewers in support of Ukraine, to a perceived dip in quality of Netflix’s ‘Originals’ sending viewers elsewhere.

After years of its SVOD-only model (Streaming Video On Demand) that - unlike the online offering of ITV and Channel 4 - ran entirely without ads, rumours that an ad-supported tiered service is to be introduced have shocked viewers.

The stories are backed by a New York Times report which reveals that the ads could be introduced as early as this year, after an internal timeline detailing the accelerated move to ads was leaked.

Although there are no details yet about how the ad-supported tier would work or the pricing options, the move is the latest in a series of rising prices that are angering consumers. The increasingly crowded streaming market, combined with global events and the millions of users leeching an account off a friend, has piled pressure on Netflix to take action.

For consumers who already pay for a service, the idea of slipping in advertising or additional costs. Many were frustrated by Spotify’s inclusion of ads in its hosted podcasts, allowing podcasters to offer a “premium” ad-free service - to users already subscribed to Spotify’s premium ad-free service.

The rising cost of subscriptions and increasing competition for streaming services could signal the start of viewers - and subsequently producers - taking their money elsewhere. But where will they end up?