Netflix subscribers like being able to glide through entire seasons of “Stranger Things” and “The Crown” without sitting through commercials for insurance and S.U.V.s with bows on the hood. Subscriptions, rather than advertising, drive its nearly $16 billion in annual revenue, and being commercial-free “remains a deep part of our brand proposition,” Netflix said in a statement.
While it is the dominant streaming platform, with 158 million global subscribers, Netflix also has a $12 billion pile of debt. And it is facing competition from deep-pocketed streaming newcomers like the Walt Disney Company and Apple. The research firm eMarketer said this month that Netflix’s “days at the top may be numbered,” and many analysts and executives wonder if, in order to keep its revenue strong, it will have to embrace ads.
“I don’t know why they wouldn’t,” said Peter Naylor, the head of advertising sales for the streaming platform Hulu.
Even as Netflix resists commercials, it is finding ways to work with brands. Last month, Netflix worked with the sandwich chain Subway to start offering a Green Eggs and Ham Sub (spinach-dyed eggs, sliced ham, guacamole, cheese) tied to the new Netflix series “Green Eggs and Ham,” based on the Dr. Seuss book. The sandwich generated a lot of publicity for Netflix in the lifestyle press while also putting the Netflix name in front of the millions of people who buy a Subway sandwich each day.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/media/netflix-commercials.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
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