In weaving together its first entry into advertising, Netflix may have threaded the needle just right.
Since announcing its intentions to launch an ad-supported tier six months ago, Netflix has sparked a constant debate among investors about whether such a move would attract new customers, thus reigniting subscriber growth that has stagnated this year, or simply cause existing ones to trade down and save a few bucks. The jury is still out on that question: the new plan announced Thursday will launch in 12 markets on Nov. 3, which means the company’s fourth-quarter report in late January will be the first chance to see how its subscribers are responding.
