Netflix Leak Has Good News About Ad-Supported Streaming Plan

According to insiders who spoke with Bloomberg, there will be certain types of content that won’t have ads, either permanently or temporarily, despite the upcoming cheaper plan using advertisements to cut the price. At the top of this alleged list is original content for kids, which will be completely ad-free, the sources claim. This is likely Netflix’s way of avoiding the legal headaches that could come with accidentally showing inappropriate ads on kids’ programming, something that Google and YouTube know all too well from experience and costly lawsuits.

Netflix original movies won’t show commercials either, at least according to the insiders, but only when they’re first released. The report doesn’t say how long this ad-free treatment will last, but those films will reportedly eventually show ads, as well. This strategy is reportedly to placate some filmmakers and studios when debuting their movies on Netflix on both paid and ad-supported tiers — after all, can you imagine your cinematic viewing experience being interrupted by ads on a film’s red carpet debut? Movies from other studios, however, will allegedly still have to be negotiated independently, which could cost Netflix no small amount.

All of these, however, are still part of that early planning stage that Netflix likes to warn people about. In this industry, it’s not as easy as simply flipping a switch to make that ad-supported tier happen. Netflix will have to tread carefully and negotiate with partners, particularly when it comes to increasing its premium for the license to show ads with content. If Netflix fails to get enough content to fill up a substantial library to make the ad-supported tier attractive, it might end up scrapping the plan altogether.