Author: Michal Wlosik / Source: The Next Web
News of Netflix testing ads spread like wildfire and caused outrage among bingers worldwide, but there’s no need to fret. For me, the proportions of the meltdown only show that most people have little idea about what Netflix ads really are and how they could actually benefit our watching experience.
Everybody calm down, these are not typical ads
Netflix boasts over 130 million active subscribers around the globe and certainly can’t afford to alienate its viewers by adulterating the watching experience. However, the news of introducing ads in-between episodes made a lot of people jump to hasty conclusions about the company’s greed.
@netflix I have heard about others getting advertisements in between shows now. Is that true?
Fair warning, first advertisement I get, I am cancelling my subscription and will urge my friends and family to do the same.
I pay a monthly service fee to NOT get ads.#netflixads
— Kyle Stephens (@kyle59sh)
I’ll be the one of millions to say it. If you introduce any ads to your service that we pay for, I am cancelling my subscription that I had for years and move on somewhere else. @netflix #netflixads #subscriptioncancellation
— iGameOver (@quantumstate12)
Netflix, what are you doing? I’ll never understand corporations that have a great product and feel the need to randomly change said product for the sake of change. Leave well enough alone. @netflix #netflixads
— TheRealMatthewJones (@MJonesEsquire)
Users get easily triggered by words like ads or commercials, but the drama is simply unfounded in this case. Netflix calls their ads promos, and uses them to recommend other Netflix shows.
The system is based on sophisticated on-site behavioral targeting algorithms and audience segmentation, which is actually very useful for viewers and a far cry from yesteryear’s 12-minute commercial breaks in the middle of a 30-minute show.
Let’s dig deeper into some of the reasons why everybody should chill out and appreciate the possibilities behind.
You can still skip if you want
In all the excitement people seem to forget the most obvious: the ads promos are skippable and don’t compromise the viewing experience in any way.
It works just as before; after each episode of your show, the final credits roll and the “Play Next Episode” button appears. Netflix ads will work just like that, the only difference being that a promo video will be shown with the “Play Next Episode” button instead.
Promos are only 30 seconds long
Even if you’re too lazy to actually press the “Play Next Episode” button, the promo is still only…
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