Netflix ad-supported tier may not display commercials in kids’ shows and new original movies

Netflix continues to work on its upcoming ad-supported tier, and new details have come to light recently. A report has claimed that the streaming giant does not plan on showing commercials in kids’ shows and new original movies.

For the first time in years, the streaming media company has lost subscribers in the last two quarters. And it led to Netflix reconsidering its position about launching an ad-supported tier. The company is now anticipated to offer a cheaper membership option, where it can place ads on shows and movies.

Bloomberg reported that Netflix is not planning on running commercials for kids’ shows on its platform. While Netflix has yet to confirm most plans for its ad-supported membership option, this move would not come as a surprise. Other streaming platforms that already support ad placements are limiting, if not entirely prohibiting, advertisements on content designed for children.

Netflix’s reported plan would also follow a similar approach Disney+ will take for its own ad-supported tier.“We’re never going to collect data on individual kids to target them,” Rita Ferro, Walt Disney Company’s president of Advertising Sales, told TechCrunch in May. The same report said programs for preschoolers would not contain ads as well.

Bloomberg also said that Netflix does not plan on placing ads for newly released original content. But this could change later on once an original title is in the catalog for some time. This also suggests that existing original TV shows and movies will likely have commercials in the new membership tier.

Running commercials on content distributed or produced by other companies will be more tricky. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Netflix has been renegotiating deals with major production companies to run ads on certain originals, such as “The Crown,” “Russian Doll,” and “You.” Bloomberg’s more recent report reiterated this information and added that Netflix could eventually pay third-party producers and distributors 10 to 15 percent more of their existing agreements.

Netflix has been careful about the details it confirms about its upcoming ad-supported plan, which is expected to go live by early 2023. But one of the few details confirmed by the company is that the cheaper option will not have all the movies and shows in the ad-free plans. “Today, the vast majority of what people watch on Netflix, we can include in the ad-supported tier today,” Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos said during the company’s Q2 earnings call last month.

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