After losing hundreds of thousands of subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, Netflix has joined hands with tech-giant Microsoft to roll out the streaming giant’s first ad-supported subscription offering. With this, Netflix is targeting a wider market to provide streaming services at a cheaper price along with the existing “ad-free” plans.
Both Netflix and Microsoft shared the news in separate blogs. Taking to Twitter, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that they are “thrilled” at this partnership. “We’re thrilled Netflix has selected Microsoft as its advertising technology and sales partner. We want publishers to have more long-term viable ad monetization platforms, so more people can access the content they love wherever they are,” wrote Nadella.
We’re thrilled Netflix has selected Microsoft as its advertising technology and sales partner. We want publishers to have more long-term viable ad monetization platforms, so more people can access the content they love wherever they are. https://t.co/QmPszxJTOf
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) July 13, 2022
In the blog post, Netflix said that it has partnered with Microsoft as the “global advertising technology and sales partner”, further adding that Microsoft has proven the ability to support Netflix for all its advertising needs. This move will help both the companies to work together for building 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,” said Netflix.
The company has not yet revealed how much it plans to charge subscribers for the new service. Netflix COO Greg Peters, while speaking about the partnership said, “It’s very early days, and we have much to work through. But our long-term goal is clear: More choice for consumers and a premium, better-than-linear TV brand experience for advertisers.”
The OTT platform lost 200,000 subscribers between January and March this year, and following this, announced the move in April of rolling out an ad-supported tier. Netflix further expects to lose a further two million subscribers between April and June, as per a BBC report.
