When Netflix stunned the industry in April by reporting that it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, the streaming giant also turned heads by announcing plans to explore ad-supported subscription options, something company management had previously been resistant to.
Now, some details of those plans are emerging, with Netflix announcing that it will partner with Microsoft on building the ad-supported option.
“We have selected Microsoft as our global advertising technology and sales partner,” said Greg Peters, Netflix’s chief operating officer and chief product officer, in a news release. “Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we work together to build a new ad-supported offering. More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members.”
The announcement was confirmed by Microsoft’s Mikhail Parakhin, president of web experiences.
“At launch, consumers will have more options to access Netflix’s award-winning content,” he said in a statement. “Marketers looking to Microsoft for their advertising needs will have access to the Netflix audience and premium-connected TV inventory. All ads served on Netflix will be exclusively available through the Microsoft platform.”
A timeline on the rollout for the plan has not yet been made public.