By Senad Karaahmetovic
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock is down 3% in pre-open Tuesday after Wall Street Journal reported the streaming giant’s new ad-supported plan was the least popular tier in November.
The ad-tier option reportedly accounted for only 9% of new Netflix sign-ups in the United States, WSJ cited data from the analytics firm Antenna. 57% of those who opted for an ad-supported tier were users re-joining the service or signing up for the first time while 43% downgraded from more expensive plans.
By the end of the last month, 0.2% of Netflix subs were on the ad-tier plan in the U.S., according to Antenna. However, a Netflix spokeswoman told WSJ that Antenna’s data is inaccurate.
“It’s still very early days for our ad-supported tier and we’re pleased with its launch and engagement, as well as the eagerness of advertisers to partner with Netflix,” she said.
The data from Antenna also showed that HBO Max owner Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) experienced better reception for its ad-supported plan, launched earlier this year at $9.99 a month. Moreover, the analytics firm estimates that Netflix’s overall customer additions were higher in October than in November.
“Advertising for us is crawl, walk, run. We’re definitely ‘crawl’ right now,” said co-chief executive officer Ted Sarandos earlier this month.
Jefferies analysts said last week that Netflix could miss subscriber growth for Q4, driven by weakness in international markets.