April 2022 was a month of reckoning for streaming service provider Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX). For the first time in over a decade, Netflix reported a loss in subscriber count. Mercilessly, investors immediately sent the stock price plunging by 35.1%. It was during this same quarter that CEO Reed Hastings announced the launch of advertising on its lower-priced plans. This ad-supported tier functions as a new business model known as Advertising-based Video on Demand (AVOD) as opposed to its previous ad-free Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD). AVOD, otherwise termed by Netflix as Basic with Ads, was officially rolled out in November last year in 12 countries along with substantial advertising spend. To stay competitive, Netflix pegged many aspects of its ad-supported tier such as price and advertising duration closely against its competitors. We attempt to evaluate whether advertising will bolster the company’s subscriber count and revenues amid rising competition and in the absence of COVID-19 tailwinds. Basic with Ads looks expensive...