Netflix is considering pricing its new advertising-supported tier at $7 to $9 a month, half as much as its current, most popular plan, which costs $15.49 monthly with no commercials.
The goal is to attract subscribers who are willing to watch some ads in exchange for a lower monthly rate.
As the streaming TV pioneer prepares to introduce advertising for the first time, it's trying to strike a careful balance between reaching a more cost-conscious consumer while still offering a pleasant experience.
Netflix plans to sell about four minutes of commercials per hour for the advertisement-supported service, far less than most of its peers, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.
The company will show advertisements before and during some programmes, but not after.
It’s also telling advertisers it wants to make smaller deals upfront so it doesn’t overpromise and overwhelm viewers with the spots, said the people.
Netflix plans to introduce its new cheaper option during the final three months of the year in at least a half dozen markets.
The company said the full roll-out may have to wait until early next year.
Details of the service have begun to trickle out as Netflix makes its plans and meets with business partners. A lot could change as the company builds out the business.
Netflix has long sold itself as a customer-friendly alternative to cable TV. People could watch TV shows and movies on-demand and without advertising. They can cancel (or sign up) at any time without much hassle and access a deep catalogue of programmes.
The 10 most viewed Netflix original films — in pictures
But subscriber losses in the first half of this year forced management to finally embrace advertising.
They believe the cheaper tier will both attract new price-conscious customers and give those ready to cancel a less-expensive alternative.
The new tier could generate $8.5 billion a year globally for Netflix by 2027, including subscription fees and advertisement sales, according to media consultancy Ampere Analytics.
Many cable networks feature between 10 and 20 minutes of advertising per hour. Most streaming services offer less than cable. Some, like Hulu, frustrate viewers by showing the same commercial over and over again.
Netflix is hoping to avoid these complaints about frequency by starting slow. It won’t be using too much targeting to tailor ads to the viewer. Most people will see the same ads.
Netflix wants to make sure the same spots don’t repeat over and over again.
Much of that work will be handled by Microsoft, which won the right to be Netflix’s exclusive advertising technology and sales partner. The tech company has little experience in streaming TV, but has built a $10bn advertising business in the last few years.
Netflix is handling conversations with film and TV producers, while Microsoft is talking to a lot of the advertising agencies and technology providers.
The companies have also met jointly with some advertisement agencies.
Netflix has declined to comment on any specifics about its plans, and many advertisers, partners and investors still have questions.
The streaming company hasn’t provided forecasts of how many people it thinks will sign up for the advertisement tier, nor has it said when it will start to allow third parties to measure its viewers.
Netflix has guarded its audience metrics, which it claims are proprietary and give it a competitive advantage. The company was always able to say those numbers were irrelevant, since it didn’t sell ads.
But advertisers will require that Netflix work with an outside company, like Nielsen, to measure how many people are actually watching.
Netflix is moving into advertising around the same time as Disney+, its biggest rival. While Disney is raising the price on its main plan and keeping the current price for its advertisement-supported version, Netflix is actually lowering the price of its service.
Leadership at Netflix has begun to make decisions about what programmes will and won’t have ads. The company won’t show advertising in kids’ programming, at least not at first. Nor will it include ads during its original movies.
The company would like to include advertisements in many of its own TV shows. It’s also pursuing rights to put ads into ones it licenses from partners.
Studios like Sony, Universal, Warner Bros and Paramount are happy to charge Netflix to put ads in old movies or old TV shows that were originally aired with ads. They are less eager to allow ads in newer programmes.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
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