Nobody is paying to watch that special or buy a copy of it . Nobody is paying to advertise while it is being shown . Most of the people who watch it will already be subscribers , and if someone joins just because of these specials , they can easily cancel before the end of the free month . Then I ' m not sure you understand the business models of content providers like Netflix then ? Spending money on content directly contributes to customer retention and new customer engagement . Some content is better than others and I ' m sure they have spent plenty of money on things which don ' t necessarily provide huge value but they have to provide a range of content for a wide range of people . I have Netflix and Amazon and although I don ' t watch every single new show they bring out , I do have some favourites so I keep subscribing because I know they will keep bringing new content . When I heard that Top GearGrand Tour was coming to Amazon for example it directly contributed to how I felt about Amazon ' s value . Most people don ' t really care to subscribe for a single month just to watch something . They are looking for providers for entertainment which they can pickup and use whenever they want .