From the beginning of its streaming venture, the firm had taken the bold and seemingly foolhardy decision to forgo advertising altogether. It rejected the attention merchant model, despite the obvious revenue potential. There was, perhaps, something natural to that decision, given that its DVD service was not ad-driven but by subscription. Still, the call was not inevitable. When asked to explain the company's aversion to advertising, Reed Hastings, Netflix's CEO, described it as part of a strategy of putting the viewer “in control of the experience.” Therefore, he said, “It's fundamental to that control orientation that we don't cram advertisements down people's throats.”

Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, loc. 1097