Netflix to introduce cut-price subscription with adverts from 2023
Netflix is hoping to claw back its subscriber numbers by launching a new low-price, ad-supported tier from 2023.
The streaming service has seen its customer base plummet since the early part of 2022, with subscribers beginning to drop in the first quarter followed by a reported loss of 970,000 subscribers globally in the second quarter.
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It has prompted the streaming giant to forge ahead with plans to introduce a new cheaper subscription that will include adverts, expected to be available to buy from early 2023.
Customers can still opt for the more expensive, ad-free version, but as yet it isn't clear whether some content will be reserved exclusively for the pricier subscription or if the only difference will be that one plan includes adverts while the other doesn't.
Netflix has also been making efforts to crack down on password sharing in all its markets across the globe, which could potentially see a big increase in subscriptions if people weren't able to use friends' logins.
New anti-password-sharing measures are currently being trialled in Latin America to stop subscribers sharing with other households, something that the Netflix terms prohibit – but which hasn't been enforced so far.
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In the trial, users are being given the option to pay extra to be able to create sub-accounts for other households, or the other households sharing the password can register for their own separate account.
According to Netflix bosses, the widespread sharing of passwords between households is limiting the streaming service's ability to fund new content.
There have also been recent price hikes in existing subscriptions to try to cover the shortfall created by subscribers deserting the service.
Recent additions to the crowded streaming market, including the launch of Peacock and Paramount+ in the UK and the imminent arrival of ITVX, combined with the cost of living crisis and the end of lockdown, are thought to have contributed to Netflix's struggles with subscriber numbers.
Watch: Netflix loses almost a million subscribers as cost of living crisis takes its toll
