Netflix is testing pre-roll trailers before its original shows, according to reports from users.
However, the company is keen to emphasise that the trailers, which promote other Netflix original shows, are “not adverts in the traditional sense”, according to a statement given to the Verge. The company also reaffirmed its promise to users that third-party adverts will never be shown on the site.
The trailers are being shown before and after Netflix’s self-produced TV shows, such as House of Cards and Marvel’s Daredevil, and cross-promote other shows made by the video-streaming company.
Regardless of what they promote with the trailers, Netflix may face an uphill battle convincing viewers that pre-roll adverts – which necessarily delay watching the content they actually want to see – are an acceptable intrusion.
Cord Cutters News, which first reported the trials, says that various formats are being tested. “Some users are reporting that they are able to skip the ads, while others say they could not; some users are reporting 20- second ads, and others are seeing longer ads; however, all reports say the ads are for Netflix shows.”
