Netflix Ads Are Coming, And It All Started With Self-Promotion

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Netflix is disappointing its “true believers” as it starts testing video promotion of its original shows, between episodes of series they are watching. Are ads coming to Netflix?

True believers are not having it. On top of spearheading the on-demand TV revolution, Netflix is also loved for being an ad-free platform. And for most, this is how it should be. After all, Netflix is a subscription service, and we pay not to see ads, right?

Yet, it seems the company is willing to sacrifice user loyalty for growth. As spotted by TechCrunch, some users have started seeing video promotion for Netflix shows, between episodes of a series they were watching.

These “breaks” are supposed to help you discover more great content, as they push fullscreen video of content that Netflix’s algorithm personally recommends you should watch. But for many users who have come across this new feature, the self-promoti0n content recommendations could be the beginning of something even less fun: ads.

Netflix has started promoting its own shows between episodes of series, and users aren’t having it.

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Despite the uproar coming from its most fanatic users, Netflix plans to keep going forward with the test. The company explains that the video promos are supposed to be skippable and that the feature will not be permanent: “We are testing whether surfacing recommendations between episodes helps members discover stories they will enjoy faster.”

Are these video promotions really that bad though? I, for one, can never find what to watch on Netflix, and I would certainly welcome a few personalized recommendations.