Netflix introduces ad-supported plans in a major shift, as the subscription streaming service saw a loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022.

Over the years, Netflix has repeatedly shot down ideas of bringing ads to the platform but has now acknowledged the sea of change in the ad model following the proven success of rivals Hulu and Disney.

News:

• Meta’s messenger rolls out new features for Earth Day, providing users options to participate in the event and help raise awareness of climate change.
• To break through personalised feeds, Pinterest allows brands to experiment with contextual targeting, by ‘owning’ keywords for new product launches.

Start-up:

• Serve Robotics offers autonomous commercial robots, striving to make delivery affordable, sustainable, and convenient. Investors include 7-Eleven, Delivery Hero, and Uber/Uber Eats.

Insights:

• Elon Musk offers to buy 100% shares of Twitter for more than $40bn ($52.20 a share) in cash, to ‘unlock the potential’ of the social media platform.

• Apple’s technology disassembles up to 1.2 million phones each year, supporting push for recovering valuable materials for recycling.

• Sprout Socials new report showcases the best times to post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

• TikTok’s ad revenue is expected to triple this year from $3.88bn in 2021 to $11.64bn in 2022. Surpassing Twitter and Snapchat combined.