Canadian Netflix users will see a new membership option starting Tuesday that costs less but comes with a catch: commercial breaks inserted into their favourite shows.
After years of uninterrupted binge-watches, the world’s largest streaming service is making way for a word from its sponsors. And as inflation continues to pinch consumers, the proposal of a cheaper Netflix plan may sound enticing to some.
Netflix isn’t alone in believing that commercial television is back in a big way.
Several free ad-supported streaming services will launch in Canada over the coming weeks, all of them built on a business model that taps into the country’s multi-billion advertising industry to finance and acquire programming.
Analysts say together the platforms could reshape how we watch and pay for television. More viewers are complaining that streaming costs have soared near the level of their old cable bills, which has pressured each service to reconsider its business model.
“Consumers are faced with more choice, more platforms and are making more deliberate decisions as to which streaming services they keep and which ones to cancel,” said Justin Krieger, senior technology and media analyst at consultancy firm RSM Canada.
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Of the newcomers, Pluto TV debuts on Dec. 1 with more than 100 channels of free TV series, movies and sports that stream “live” online on a platform that mimics the experience of channel surfing, complete with the commercials.
Around the same time, CBC will introduce a revamped free streaming news channel that will be available on CBC Gem and multiple other streaming platforms. A flagship program hosted by Andrew Chang of “The National” will be the main attraction, with advertisements interspersed throughout the day.
South of the border, Disney Plus rolls out an ad-supported option later this year with some industry observers predicting it will apply the same model in Canada soon after. The ad tier will be introduced at the price of Disney’s existing commercial-free service. Subscribers who want to eliminate the ads will have to pay a premium.
Each service has its own reasons for getting into the ad business.
For Netflix and Disney, one of the main drivers is growing revenues as programming costs soar and competitors lure away subscribers.
Meanwhile, the free streaming services use ad revenues to fund a slate of original and licensed programming, which puts incredible pressure on Netflix to maintain its leading position with attractive new films and shows.
Netflix’s pitch
Earlier this year, after repeatedly swearing off the possibility of ever getting into advertising, Netflix changed its tune by announcing it would launch an ad tier for subscribers in key international markets.
In Canada, the “basic with ads” plan costs $5.99 per month _ less than the plans without ads, which start at $9.99 and peak at $20.99 a month.
As a trade-off for the savings, Netflix says subscribers will be presented with an average of four to five minutes of ads per hour played before and during their TV shows and films.
Video quality on the Netflix ad plan tops out at 720p, leaving full high-definition streaming at 1080p and 4K for premium subscribers. Viewers also won’t be able to download titles on their devices and not everything in the service’s library will be available.
Those restrictions will sour the appeal to many Netflix devotees, suggested Carmi Levy, a technology analyst based in London, Ont.
He said Canadians were sold the idea of a commercial-free Netflix a decade ago which led other entrants in the market to mimic their approach with similar models.
That’s different than the United States where Peacock, Paramount Plus and HBO Max all offer less expensive ad tiers as a subscription option, while Crackle and Amazon’s Freevee are among the major players in free, ad-supported platforms.
“Canadians don’t have that legacy of experience and as a result may be more resistant to the way Netflix is introducing that service,” he said.
“It’ll take time for Netflix and others to educate Canadians on the advantages of paying less for a streaming service and getting ads served up in return.”
Do Canadians want ads?
Kaan Yigit, a technology analyst at Solutions Research Group, said a survey conducted by his firm earlier this year found U.S. viewers have already adopted ad-supported subscription options.
About 40 per cent of HBO Max subscribers signed up for its lower-priced ad tier, he said, while an average of 58 per cent of subscribers used the cheaper versions of Paramount Plus and Peacock.
He estimates a modest 20 per cent of Canadian Netflix subscribers will join the ad tier over the next 12 to 18 months.
However, Netflix’s initial sign-up numbers won’t be the best indicator of long-term success for the ad model, suggested Levy.
Subscribers who joined for a deal could be turned off if the ad breaks become as long as they are on network TV stations, which typically air 20 minutes of commercials per hour.
“The devil is always in the details whenever a streaming provider introduces an ad-based tier,” Levy said.
“What matters most is how intrusive that presentation of ads is to the overall viewing experience. And if it is intrusive in the way that consumers have long complained about traditional broadcast television ads, then this could very well be a non-starter for Netflix.”
The ad agencies
Until those intricacies play out, advertising agencies say their clients are salivating over the prospects of new placement options in the Canadian market.
“What we’re seeing is a lot of initial excitement and questions around Netflix, in particular,” said Marissa Cristiano, an account director at Cossette who says she’s “exploring” ad buys on the service with some clients.
“They’ve done a really good job of creating … the type of content that brands really do want to ally with.”
Cherie Hill, senior vice president of media at marketing firm Society, Etc., said she anticipates Netflix ads will be angled toward “budget-conscious” shoppers, with a strong focus on consumer staples, household items and car companies.
She doesn’t anticipate much blowback from viewers, mainly because Netflix is making it an opt-in proposition.
“If you’re choosing to have the commercials, it’s not going to leave a negative experience,” she said.
“They’re providing an option and they’re managing expectations.”
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
