To help defray the cost of a Netflix membership for users in certain areas, including the United States, the company introduced an ad-supported tier in November. In an interview with CNBC’s Peter Hewitt at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Netflix’s President of Worldwide Advertising, Jeremi Gorman, discussed the company’s early impressions on the product’s reception and its future directions.

The executive was interviewed at the Variety Entertainment Summit during CES and said that they were pleased with the variety and quality of the sponsors who signed on for the first time.

Gorman remarked, “It’s truly across the board,” referring to the wide range of businesses taking part. Retailers, luxury brands, car manufacturers, and consumer packaged goods corporations are all represented. We can make out a large area. She went on to point out that this is beneficial to the customer experience as it reduces the likelihood that viewers would become fatigued from being subjected to nonstop vehicle commercials. “I think we’ll continue to see that,” Gorman said when asked about the future of advertising.

During the conversation, some of the first criticism and worries regarding Netflix’s introduction of advertisements were discussed.

One of the most common complaints is that the corporation charges too much for advertisements, with one industry insider referring to the rates as “Super Bowl CPMs.” Even while Gorman defended Netflix’s price points, he acknowledged that market forces will ultimately determine the company’s success.

“From a supply-demand perspective, the premium CPMs are reflective of two things: one is that we just couldn’t take that many advertisers. We certainly didn’t want to disappoint anybody. Then secondarily, the premium content environment in which the ads run I think warrants a high CPM.”

Netflix’s status as a “premium environment” is open for discussion, of course. However, Netflix appears to be modifying its standards.

While the market will ultimately determine what appropriate CPMs are, “I believe we’re definitely modest enough to very much acknowledge we’re top of market,” Gorman said.

There is also the question of what kinds of material may and cannot have adverts on Netflix’s ad-supported service. Due to the fact that the streaming service was never meant to be supported by advertisements, many of its content licences did not contain AVOD rights (advertising video on demand). Because of this, Netflix’s ad inventory is small, and some of its own “Netflix Originals” can’t have advertising placed against them if the corresponding licencing arrangements don’t contain those rights.

The topic of licencing was also addressed by Gorman, who stated that Netflix was working on the problem.

“That’s developing as we speak, on a daily basis. She also mentioned that the “great majority” of popular material is accessible on the ad tier surface, and that “we’re renegotiating arrangements we made a long time ago.” Presently, according to Gorman, between 85 and 95 percent of Netflix’s library is accessible on the ad-supported tier.

And there’s the business worry that if Netflix introduces a cheaper tier, subscribers may leave in droves for the cheaper plan, reducing revenue even if the ad-supported plan continues to expand. However, Gorman dismissed those worries, claiming that Netflix subscribers had always stuck with their existing package.

The executive was unable to comment on the popularity of the ad-supported programme before Netflix released its profits, but he did say, “we’re delighted with the growth we’re witnessing.”

You may subscribe to the ad-supported Netflix service in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico right now. The firm has no current intentions to grow, but in the future it would like to expand into more lucrative advertising markets. Customers on the Basic with Ads plan are subject to advertisements, poorer video quality (720p HD), and device limits. No content may be downloaded to their devices for viewing later.

In the future, Netflix plans to expand beyond its current ad offerings by including features like the dynamic placement of advertising at marketer-relevant times, single-show sponsorships, and more. It will also enable age and gender specific advertising in the future.