Netflix CEO now says he’s open to a cheaper, ad-supported plan

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Reed Hastings, co-founder and co-CEO of the company, said on Tuesday's earnings call that the company is open to offering even lower prices with advertising, as a consumer choice.

Hastings admits that introducing an ad-supported tier would be a big change in thinking for the company.

The idea of an ad-supported tier is something that makes a lot of sense for consumers who would like to have a lower price.

After Tuesday's news that it lost subscribers for the first time in a decade, the company seems open to a lot of things that it had rejected. He said that they will have to see a path to growing a big revenue stream and a great profit stream with sports.

There would be more than one company that would introduce an ad-supported tier. Consumers can pay less in return for having their shows occasionally interrupted if they choose a competitor's plan. Disney will add an ad-supported option to Disney Plus by the end of the year.

The basic tier is $10 a month, the standard tier is $15.49 a month, and the premium tier is $20 a month. The company bumped them up in March. During the call, Hastings says he's proud of the price spread, but as we pointed out in January, the company's deep market penetration means it has limited options to try. The company is trying to cut down on password sharing and introduce a cheaper tier as part of its plan to increase its number of customers.

There is a note about Ted Sarandos referencing live sports.