How many pop-up ads in one video can a person, or bird, take? After non-Yo*tube Premium subscribers have to struggle unskippable ads, we now got another thing to worry about.

Last 3 November, Netflix just launched “Basic with Ads”, their cheapest subscription plan to date, but this time with ads. Seems like Stranger Things got some new competition.

It is the first time Netflix added in commercials in their platform since its launch in 2007.

Ads will play from about 15 to 30 seconds before and during shows. It’s unskippable (sad) but there are frequency caps (okay, I guess) to ensure viewers won’t get annoyed (too much).

But wait! There’s more: in this new plan, you won’t be able to download shows for offline viewing.

Now you ask, why are they doing this? Wasn’t the whole point of Netflix streaming your favourite film uninterrupted no matter how catastrophic the plot is?

Apparently, things haven’t been going quite well for Netflix lately. They saw a decline in platform users and a drop in market value by 65% over the past year.

In an attempt to salvage their losses, they decided to introduce ads in no time.

If things go well, the losses from existing users switching from more expensive plans for Basic with Ads will be compensated by ad revenue. To appease their subscribers, Netflix is looking into ways to put a cap on the number of times an ad can repeat.

If things don’t, then I guess they just have to make their users happy by simply not cancelling fan-favourite shows. But that's a topic and a Pecky rant for another time. 

Xoxo,

Gossip Girl (Pecky)