LOS GATOS, Calif. – Netflix had no idea there were porn offerings on ClipBlast, a site that collects videos from numerous tube sites, mainstream and adult.
ClipBlast, which bills itself as the "World's Largest Video Search," includes a search option for adult content. As a result, a page featuring videos from PornoTube such as "Gorgeous Cheating Wife" and "Well-Hung Amateurs" will also feature a window with changing slides from advertisers that include Netllix, the Wall Street Journal, Barnes & Noble, Twitter, Eurocave wine cellars and other companies.
When AVN.com reached a spokesman for Netflix, it appeared the online movie rental giant wasn't aware of ClipBlast's adult content, or at least the fact that its ad on the site made it look like it supported such content.
"We do our largest advertising on the Internet; we're pretty ubiquitous. We are an Internet company, after all and have always used the Internet as a marketing vehicle and we work with agencies that make broad buys," said Steve Swasey, vice president of corporate communications. "So, we're on a lot of different sites and obviously, we're on ClipBlast.”
But not for much longer, Swasey told AVN.com
"We're removing our ads from that site. We don't rent porn and don't want to be affiliated with any sites that do," he said. "Netflix has an outstanding reputation among consumers and consumer trust for movie-watching. It's made us the No. 1 rated website for customer satisfaction for eight consecutive surveys since 2005. Consumer Reports named Netflix the best way to rent movies among stores, online, what have you, in its March issue."
"We have a brand we've worked very hard to uphold as a mainstream company," Swasey said. “We have 100,000 titles on DVD and Blu-ray disc and don't carry porn -- there are plenty of other ways for consumers to get that.”
Contrary to Swasey's assertion, a search of Netflix offerings may not yield out-and-out porn, but will bring listing for films with adult themes and sexually-charged content.
With Netflix pulling its ads, will the Wall Street Journal and Barnes & Noble follow, because of the potential porn association on the site?
Neither firm could be reached for comment.
Though a pop-up screen issues a warning for the adult content, asking if the user wishes to precede, the site then simply includes porn clips in other selections falling under the "adult content" umbrella on a page.
The site also appears to contain pirated adult content. Digital Playground notified AVN.com the company found a scene from its film Deeper 11, starring Stoya.
A ClipBlast representive was not available for comment until next week, the company said in an e-mail.
