Netflix COO Greg Peters has announced that the company’s new with-ads subscription option will launch in Germany in November.

Basic with ads Netflix subscription coming to Germany

At a press conference on Thursday, Netflix COO Greg Peters announced that the platform’s new budget subscription option would be launching in Germany on November 3. The new “Basic with Ads” subscription allows viewers access 90 to 95 percent of available Netflix shows for 4,99 euros per month. Netflix currently offers three subscriptions, the most popular being the 12,99-euro package. All three include the option to download programmes, a service which will not be included in Basic with Ads.

Until now there has never been any advertising on Netflix, a quality which often draws people to streaming services on the internet. Basic with Ads, which the international company will initially launch in 12 countries, will show viewers an advertisement lasting 15 or 30 seconds at the beginning of the stream and mid-roll ads during their viewing. Netflix has promised only four to five minutes of adverts per hour. It will not be possible to skip ads and political advertisements and adverts for weapons, tobacco or “get-rich-quick schemes” will not be shown. 

Why are Netflix introducing cheaper streaming in Germany?

In the spring of this year Netflix saw its first drop in subscribers in 10 years. The company’s plans to introduce advertisements were announced shortly thereafter. In the summer months the platform lost a further 1 million subscribers, and over the past year its total market value has decreased by 65 percent.

Peters said that “in the grand scheme of things” he saw the new subscription offer as a “very pro consumer and consumer friendly approach”. Taking questions from international news outlets during the press conference, Peters defended the company’s decision to include ads, saying it was most inclusive to potential customers who have less disposable income left over from their salaries. 

“To offer the wide variety of entertainment we have at a lower price for [customers], with the offset of this [...] thoughtfully placed ads experience - we are confident that for a certain set of consumers, that will be a considerable set positive," he said.