Happy Nice Mall

It’s a question almost as old as Netflix: How long can we have the world’s favorite streaming video service ad-free?

Over the years, Netflix executives have been asked if the company could one day run ads like traditional TV. reply it happened a little version related to No. However, those who follow Netflix closely spotted a subtle but meaningful change in response last month by the company’s senior finance executive, saying:Never say never”

Manager Spencer Neumann said the company has no plans for ads, but his comments renew the arguments of people in entertainment and finance about whether Netflix should do it. should add ads.

Alongside apps like YouTube and Facebook, Netflix is ​​the undisputed leader as the world’s entertainment habits change. But streaming is hard work, period.and the possibility of adding ads shows that even the star of the industry has a hard time repeating his past success.

Netflix is ​​a bit of an internet weirdo only to monetize monthly fees paid by its customers. Traditional cable TV, some video streaming services, and other companies, including The New York Times, combine subscriptions and advertising.

I want us to think about two questions: First, does it help us when companies that make money from selling products add more paid commercial messages to the mix, as Amazon, Apple, and Uber do? Second, as tech services as we mature from new kids to leaders in their fields, will the pressures of adult life force them to change in ways we don’t like?

Let me step back and give some context as to why the long-asked question of whether or not Netflix should add ads has come up again.

Netflix continued to find new customers for a long time while continuing its mission of being TV for the world. But for now, subscriber growth is slowing. Netflix is ​​looking to grow, and so are its investors, who have been worried enough to wipe $140 billion from the company’s stock market value since November. Netflix said its slower growth could be due to more pressure from competitors at entertainment establishments like Disney and HBO, including those that copy Netflix with their own streaming services.

When companies struggle to increase their sales as fast as they’d hoped, they often look for new ways to make money – and that’s it. often found in advertisements. Amazon started as an online-only mall, but now collects billions of dollars a year from companies that pay to let you see dog beds or pulse oximeters.

Netflix with ads can keep the price lower for subscribers. Or it can simply fill the company’s profits. I not sure we will get lower prices When manufacturers pay to make sure we see their products prominently on Amazon or Instacart or on Walmart’s shelves.

I wonder what Netflix is ​​up to because I love ad-free streaming and it’s an interesting role reversal.

In the digital age, we often see young whips challenge industry leaders. Except this time around, old guard entertainment companies like Disney are taking over a tech company. This doesn’t happen very often!

This time the tech company is big, profitable and warn their employees to be more frugal. Fun grandparents, plus Amazon and AppleThey are the ones who scatter money trying to get new customers quickly, sometimes at discounted prices on subscriptions.

And just as the media giants have copied Netflix, now Netflix is ​​stealing some from them. Netflix has avoided TV ratings for years, but now have them, sort of. Like old-style TV, some Netflix series slowly upload new episodesnot all at once for the extreme festivities for which the streaming service is known.

HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu, as well as some other streaming services from traditional entertainment companies, two layers, one with ads that cost less, and the other without commercial breaks and at a higher monthly fee. This may encourage Netflix to do something similar.

How tech companies love Netflix and Facebook can change their product and their relationship with us when they are already near the top of the mountain and it is difficult for them to continue climbing. This is still new for companies and their users, and we don’t know when tech companies will act. they are Goliaths Challenged by Davids.

Before you go …

• Internet tracking, same but different: My colleagues Brian X. Chen and Dai Wakabayashi discuss the changes Apple and Google have implemented in online data collection and a different types of internet monitoring may be reinforcing the power of some tech giants.

• Why are Russian hackers claiming that Ukraine has surrendered? Almost no one is fooled, but my colleague Kate Conger says Russia-backed hackers can try to be fooled. Ukraine shakes trust in media organizations and institutions.

  Relevant, great image parallel digital worlds From Norway’s NRK broadcasting company: The Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Russia’s Belgorod are not far apart geographically. But on TikTok, war is always present on the Ukrainian side of the border, while users on the Russian side mostly see stupidity.

• A new technology doodad is coming to baseball. I guess the fans will be angry about this On-body messaging devices and headsets for some players to communicate on the field.

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Pure stupid fun in this Twitter thread of people share their controversial opinions about foodit tastes great (?!?!), including the bananas on the pizza.

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