Video streaming giant Netflix is running adverts for its own content during buffering between shows.
Netflix will be airing ads to promote its own content at the end of episodes while subsequent episodes buffer.
The on-site behavioral advertising algorithm that is being implemented by Netflix for its 130 million users is quite different from how traditional advertising works on similar platforms.
There are no third-party advertisements on the streaming service, and all of the ads are for other shows that you might be interested in.
The move follows rival Amazon Prime, which already shows skippable ads for its own shows before each stream.
Netflix’s advertisements for its content plays between episodes and can be skipped. They do not compromise the user experience in any way according to a report by The Next Web. The ads are only 30 seconds long and can be useful at recommending shows that users might be interested in, based on their tastes and preferences.
The advertising system is implemented in the platform’s “Play Next Episode” menu which appears at the end of an episode. Instead of the subsequent episode starting immediately, ads being to play immediately now and they offer users the option to skip them and move to the next episode. Considering episodes can last between 30 to 60 minutes, one 30 second skippable advertisement does not seem like a very large compromise.
Netflix seeks to promote its own content and not share user data with third party users. The company has no plans of sharing user data to advertisers or introduce external advertising on the platform either.
The streaming giant has not confirmed if advertisements are here to stay or if they will be removing it in the future. It is still in a testing phase and yet to be permanently implemented on the platform. Users can currently opt out of advertising as well by disabling the Test Participation setting under Account settings.
