Dive Brief:
- Recent research found only 24% of U.S. Netflix subscribers don’t watch the streaming service's original content.
- Early last year, that same amount coincidentally reported half or more of their Netflix viewing was original content and last month that number reached 38%.
- In June, Netflix had to refute claims it was going to run third-party ads after showing some pre-roll teasers for its original content.
Dive Insight:
Netflix has become known for its original programming, such as "House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black" and "Chef's Table," and its viewership for that content continues to grow. Recent research from RBC Capital Markets found only 24% of U.S. users don’t watch original content with 38% reporting half or more of their Netflix usage was original content, a figure up from 24% in early 2014.
The video streaming pioneer is known for its ad-free service, but its competition is catching on: rival Hulu is now offering an ad-free premium version. Although the basic Hulu subscription that incudes ads is near in price to Netflix the new premium ad-free version will be significantly more per month for users. Earlier this summer Netflix had to fend off claims that it was going to begin running third-party ads after running some pre-roll teasers for its original content. Still, streaming content is continuing to soar in popularity, and research from earlier this summer found 73% of U.S. users reporting “not at all likely to” to cancel subscriptions in spite of ads.