Netflix would be well advised to pay attention to some interesting new figures that have been published following a poll of the streaming service’s subscribers. Having recently confirmed that it will be testing advertisements, albeit ones that promote Netflix content only, the research has found that 79pc of customers would rather pay more for a subscription than see ads while they stream.
The informal poll of 100 people, conducted by Exstreamist, also found that 56pc of subscribers would likely cancel Netflix if they had to watch third-party ads. “The sole reason I switched to Netflix was to cut-out the ads,” said one participant. “This is their unique selling point, and to start including ads devalues the concept.”
In contrast, 54pc of subscribers said they would wouldn’t mind if it meant Netflix could significantly increase its content library. 44pc said they would be willing to pay between US$1 and US$3 more for the service, while 27pc said they would be willing to pay US$4 per month. “I really hate being interrupted by ads, but to be realistic, I also think Netflix is under-priced for how much value I get out of it already,” said another participant. “I’d love to pay more to increase their ability to get more TV shows.”
There was almost no connection between age and sentiment toward advertisements found, which surprised the poll conductors who expected there to be a bias toward younger people being more against commercials.
Meanwhile, figures released in April revealed that streaming services have overtaken live television as the primary way Americans take in their video content. Deloitte’s annual Digital Democracy Survey found that 56pc of viewers stream movies and 53pc stream television every month, while just 45pc prefer to watch TV live. The trend is particularly prominent among younger viewers, with nearly 60pc of millennials’ (those aged 14-25) media consumption time spent watching movies via desktops, tablets and smartphones.
Closer to home, recent research has found two-thirds of all adults in Ireland have watched video-on-demand services within the last six months.
