Skip to main content

Netflix is testing teaser trailers that play automatically, and not everyone loves them

netflix fall favorite tv shows millennials watching movie
Twin Design / Shutterstock.com
Cable subscribers have grown used to seeing advertising alongside the programming they view, even though they’re paying for the subscription, but with streaming, viewers are much more sensitive. Ad-supported streaming services do exist — Crackle for example — but even with services that allow next-day viewing of popular shows, users are wary of advertising on a service they pay for monthly.

Now some users fear that Netflix could be the next subscription streaming service to bring ads into the fold. Late last month, some viewers began seeing teaser trailers for content available on Netflix play automatically, sometimes as soon as they opened the app, as Cord Cutters News was first to spot.

Silent trailers have been part of the Netflix experience for some time now, but these new teaser trailers included audio.  So far the trailers have been for both Netflix originals like the upcoming Fuller House as well as content licensed from other sources.

While reports were sporadic at first, Netflix has confirmed that it is currently testing out this new type of teaser. “Some members in a limited test now see teasers with audio as they browse,” a Netflix spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We learn by testing and these features may or may not become part of the Netflix experience.”

Technically the teaser trailers being show to users aren’t ads, at least in the traditional sense. Netflix seems to be showing these to promote its original content, ostensibly to users whose watching preferences show they might like what they’re being shown. Netflix could theoretically use these spots to show content from advertisers, but it likely wouldn’t be worth alienating their subscriber base.

Whether or not the new trailers technically count as ads, many users aren’t happy, and some took to Twitter to call Netflix out publicly. The number of tweets regarding the teaser trailers seems to have dwindled over the past few days, so it’s possible that Netflix is being less aggressive in showing them.

This could be a result of the backlash, but it’s worth restating that these teaser trailers aren’t official yet. The company could simply be experimenting with how often it shows trailers and what it shows to different types of users.

These steps likely aren’t the last we’ll see when it comes to Netflix promoting its original content. The streaming service has doubled down on its efforts with original programming, and it will certainly keep doing whatever it can to remind viewers that they can’t get those movies and shows anywhere else.

Editors' Recommendations

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
Arnold Schwarzenegger headlines first TV series in trailer for Netflix’s Fubar
Arnold Schwarzenegger walks away from a dumpster on fire in Fubar.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Predator) is back, baby, as he headlines his first-ever TV series, Netflix's Fubar. The streamer released the first teaser trailer on Monday, where Schwarzenegger is thrown into the world of espionage.

Schwarzenegger stars as Luke, a CIA operative on the verge of retirement who discovers a secret involving his daughter Emma (Top Gun: Maverick's Monica Barbaro). Luke, who has concealed his life in the CIA from his family, learns that Emma is also a CIA operative. With the discovery, Luke is now forced back into the field for one final job as Fubar depicts "universal family dynamics set against a global backdrop of spies, action, and humor."

Read more
Treason trailer features Charlie Cox in Netflix’s MI6 series
Charlie Cox stands against the wall in a scene from Treason.

Netflix has released the first trailer for Treason, an espionage thriller set in the world of MI6. The limited series features Charlie Cox as Adam Lawrence, a British intelligence officer thrust into command after a failed assassination attempt against the chief of MI6.

Treason | Official Trailer | Netflix

Read more
The end is the beginning in The Witcher: Blood Origin teaser
Michelle Yeoh in The Witcher: Blood Origin.

Despite Henry Cavill's impending exit from The Witcher, the fantasy series remains one of Netflix's flagship shows. Fortunately for fans, that means we don't have to wait until next summer to see something new. Next month, The Witcher: Blood Origin will debut as a four-episode prequel series that reveals how the first Witcher was created and why. And in the new teaser trailer for this miniseries event, it's both the end of an era and the beginning of something new.

The Witcher: Blood Origin | Official Teaser Trailer | Netflix

Read more