79% of Netflix subscribers would rather pay more than see ads, says poll

It has been an interesting two weeks of speculation as Netflix seems poised to make some serious changes.

First there was a rumor that Netflix was going to be implementing advertisements. Netflix was quick to clarify that while yes, they were testing advertisements, they would only be used to promote Netflix content (think HBO Go & Now), and would not sell third party ads (think Hulu).

Next, Netflix announced they would be raising subscription prices in the UK, a move that has caused far less of a stir than the advertisement rumors, but still has people wondering stateside if another price increase might be coming.

So with that in mind, Exstreamist decided to take a poll to get a feel for where most readers stand when it comes to what Netflix should do next to enable them to grow their content library. We surveyed 100 Netflix subscribers and the results were pretty interesting, as you’ll see below.

Questions

For a bit of clarification, when we asked about ads in the survey, we specifically mentioned we were talking about third party advertisements as opposed to in-house ads promoting Netflix content.

If Netflix started showing advertisements, would you cancel your subscription?
Would you rather pay more for Netflix or be shown ads?
How much more would you be willing to pay for Netflix to avoid seeing advertisements?
If Netflix added advertisements, how many would you be ok with before cancelling your account?
If Netflix was able to add thousands of new movies and TV shows by showing occasional advertisements, would you be ok with this?

Highlights

79% of Netflix subscribers would rather pay more for a subscription than see advertisements while they stream.
56% of subscribers said they would likely cancel their subscription to Netflix if they had to watch third party advertisements (general sentiment in the comments section was more receptive toward “in house” ads promoting Netflix content).
In contrast though, 54% of subscribers said they would actually be ok with third party advertisements if it meant Netflix could significantly increase their content library.
29% said they would not be willing to pay more for Netflix, 44% said they would be willing to pay $1-3 more for Netflix, 27% said they would be willing to pay $4+ per month.
Very little correlation between age and sentiment toward advertisements. We expected there to be a bias toward younger people being more against advertisements, but the general opinions were relatively equal across the board.

Quotes

“The sole reason I switched to Netflix was to cut-out the ads. This is their unique selling point, and to start including ads devalues the concept.”
“I would rather pay more for a subscription. It is such a pleasure to watch a program with no ads.”
“I love the no commercials during my show but wouldn’t mind at the end or beginning of a show or movie.”
“I don’t mind ads that much. Probably just used to regular television.”
“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. I’d love to pay more to increase their ability to get more TV shows.”