A research group confirms what a lot of Netflix subscribers already suspected: If you start playing ads, people will cancel.
New data from the entertainment research firm Hub show that 23 percent, or about 1 in 4 Netflix subscribers, would cancel their subscriptions if the streaming service began inserting ads into its programming.
The survey included 1,612 TV viewers, ages 16 to 74, with broadband. The data also showed that if ads were coupled with a lower monthly fee, only 16 percent of Netflix subscribers would cancel.
Netflix has been testing ads in a limited capacity, and audiences already seem annoyed by the prospect.
Netflix hit 125 million subscribers in April and ended 2017 with a record $11.6 billion in total revenue. Streaming competitors Amazon and Hulu are not going away anytime soon. Netflix losing a quarter of its subscriber base wouldn’t just be a huge loss for Netflix, it would likely mean a huge gain for its competitors.
