Some Netflix original series may soon air on broadcast networks around the world.
According to a new Bloomberg report, higher-ups at the streaming service have debated syndicating its older TV shows to broadcast networks across the globe to generate additional income. This strategy, however, hasn’t been given a final decision yet, the same with the company’s pending idea of putting its original movies in conventional theaters.
ComicBook.com reported that Netflix’s idea of syndicating some of its original series could prove to be a somewhat profitable option, as there are billions of people who either don’t have devices with access to high-speed Internet or can’t afford to spend $16 a month for a Netflix account. The strategy, however, is a double-edged sword, as one could argue that Netflix selling its original TV series to broadcast networks for syndication reruns might also contribute to the decline of the platform’s number of subscribers.
Netflix’s dwindling subscribers
The streamer has struggled to retain and add new subscribers in recent months. Last April, Netflix announced that it had lost 200,000 subscribers — the first decline in the company’s membership in more than a decade. This shocking news led to the biggest-ever one-day drop in the company’s market cap on April 20th, when it lost $54 billion in value.
Netflix job cuts
The streamer also made a series of layoffs earlier this year works as it works to rein in costs amid its slowing revenue growth. The company’s latest batch of job cuts took place last June, when it laid off 300 staff members — that’s around 3% of its overall workforce, which includes 11,000 full-time employees. Like the streamer’s previous job cuts in 2022, last month’s layoffs are mostly based in the U.S.
Netflix’s ad-supported subscription plan
While the syndication and theatrical release plans for Netflix originals have yet to be decided, the previously announced ad-supported subscription plan of the streamer is officially moving forward. Just last week, the streaming giant named Microsoft as its partner for the ad-supported tier, which will soon join the platform’s existing ads-free basic, standard, and premium plans.
Details on streamer’s ad-supported subscription plan, including how much it will cost, have yet to be revealed, as the platform’s ad efforts are still in the “very early days,” according to its Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer, Greg Peters.
The company’s co-CEO Reed Hastings has long been against the idea of adding ads or other kinds of promotion to the platform, but during the company’s pre-recorded earnings conference call last April, he said that it “makes a lot of sense” to offer customers a more affordable option.
