Since the beginning of 2022, Netflix has reported a net loss of 1.17 million subscribers around the world. However, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the streaming giant is projecting a growth of 40 million unique viewers by this time next year thanks to the addition of a lower-priced, ad-supported subscription option.

These projections were reportedly shared with ad buyers and focus specifically on the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, and the U.K. It should be also noted that projected “unique viewers” is different than projected subscribers as in most cases multiple people in each household stream content on the service. Netflix has also been working to curb password sharing in which people outside of the subscriber's home use the same account.

Netflix reportedly believes that it will add 4.4 million unique viewers by the end of 2022, with 1.1 million coming from the U.S., before jumping to that 40 million mark by the third quarter of 2023. The streaming giant believes that 13.3 million of those additional viewers will come domestically.

This seems to further contribute fuel to the fire that Netflix is planning to move up the launch of its ad-supported pricing option from the “early 2023” date that it posited during its second-quarter earnings report. More recent reports indicated that the streamer would look to move their launch up to November in order to get ahead of Disney+’s announced ad-supported launch date of Dec. 8; Netflix pushed back on those reports.

“We are still in the early days of deciding how to launch a lower priced, ad supported tier and no decisions have been made,” a Netflix spokeswoman told the WSJ.

The introduction of an ad-supported option is believed to be a money-making endeavor for the streamer. While projections have varied by analyst, it is believed that the world’s largest streamer could increase revenue by $5.5 billion in the next five years. And while initially some on-lookers were concerned about the lower-priced subscription option cannibalizing the company’s premium offering, surveys indicate that nearly three-quarters of current subscribers plan to remain with their ad-free subscription.

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Netflix is a leading subscription-based video streaming service that offers on-demand access to an extensive library of over 3,000 movies, 2,000+ TV shows, and a growing collection of acclaimed Netflix originals. Renowned for producing groundbreaking content, Netflix has become a cultural powerhouse with hit originals like “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “The Crown,” “Tiger King,” “Bridgerton,” “The Witcher,” and “Black Mirror.”

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The platform constantly updates its catalog, introducing fresh content alongside timeless classics and international hits. Netflix’s commitment to storytelling has also earned critical acclaim, with award-winning exclusives such as “Roma,” “Marriage Story,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Mank,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” In 2023, their animated film “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, further solidifying Netflix’s reputation for high-quality content.

Recently, Netflix has expanded beyond standard movies and TV titles with the addition of video podcasts, and is also exploring a digital store that would offer third-party streamers within the app.

Netflix offers three plans – stream on 2 devices in HD with the “Standard with Ads” ($8.99) plan, on 2 devices in HD with the “Standard” ($19.99) plan, and 4 devices in up to 4K on the “Premium” ($26.99) plan.

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