Well, now we know and knowing is half the battle in the fictional streaming wars right? Ok maybe I just wanted to pigeonhole an old catchphrase from my childhood into a tech story but the important news here is that Netflix has come to an agreement to partner with Microsoft to handle the advertising end of its coming ad-supported tier.
Microsoft announced the move via its blog saying that marketers looking to Microsoft for their advertising needs will have access to the Netflix audience and premium connected TV inventory. with all ads served on Netflix will be exclusively available through the Microsoft platform.
There have been rumors swirling for months of everything from Netflix buying Roku to build out its advertising team to various other possibilities as it looked to offer a less expensive version of its service. The company has been transitioning by necessity to a content creator as much as it has been a content aggregator as more studios pour content into their owned and operated services meaning Netflix has been unable to depend on content from companies like Disney, Warner Brothers and Universal amidst the rise of Disney+, HBO Max, and Peacock respectively.
“In April we announced that we will introduce a new lower-priced ad-supported subscription plan for consumers, in addition to our existing ads-free basic, standard, and premium plans. Today we are pleased to announce that we have selected Microsoft as our global advertising technology and sales partner.
“Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we together 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,” Netflix COO Greg Peters 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. We’re excited to work with Microsoft as we bring this new service to life.”
Customers hope that the move will stop the seemingly regular price increases that the service has laid at the feet of customers as both content deals and production costs have skyrocketed.
