After years of astonishing growth, streaming giant Netflix recently lost subscribers for the first time ever. The company’s stock also took a tumble. To combat this the company introduced an ad-tier model. Now they might be in hot water over it.
The Japan broadcasting network, known as Nippon Housou Kyoukai (NHK), has asked Netflix to stop distributing all 22 of its titles on the streamer’s ad-tier subscription level. The Japan Times is reporting that Netflix said it had an agreement with NHK about ad-supported streaming.
NHK said the ad-supported streaming was different than what the company thought it would be, and that Netflix didn’t adequately explain the situation before the shows were put on Netflix. Netflix removed the advertisements from the shows, according to the Anime News Network.
The NHK has policies against distribution of NHK shows by third parties when there’s a “misconception that it is recommending or advertising a certain product or service.” Netflix said it was continuing to negotiate with the NHK.
Netflix’s subscription tier was launched on Nov. 3 in various countries including the United States, Canada, Japan, Spain, France, Mexico, Korea and a few others. Some titles are not available in that tier due to licensing, but Netflix said it was “working on” the issue.
Subscribers of the ad-level tier get about five minutes of ads for every hour watched. The ads run between 15 to 30 seconds, and advertisers have the option of targeting ads by genre of show or location.
For an overview of all of the streamer’s plans and prices, check out our explainer on all of Netflix’s tiers.
