Netflix Partners With Microsoft To Bring Ad-Supported Subscription Tier

Earlier this year, it was reported that Netflix lost a whopping 2,00,000 subscribers within the first three months of the calendar year. This is was the first time in a decade that the company was losing customers. The video streaming firm tried to make up for losses by offering an ad-supported tier at a cheaper price. Now, Netflix has roped in Microsoft to help with its advertising needs.

Greg Peters, COO and CPO at Netflix, announced Microsoft as its “global advertising technology and sales partner.” Peters stated that the software giant “has the proven ability to support” Netflix’s advertising needs as the two companies “work together to build a new ad-supported offering.” The COO added that Microsoft “offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections.”

Mikhail Parakhin, President Web Experiences at Microsoft explained that the partnership will introduce more ways of accessing Netflix. Parakhin added, “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.”

Peters noted that the partnership is still at the early stages and the two companies have a lot to achieve. The Netflix COO echoed Parakhin’s statement, highlighting its long-term goal of providing more options for subscribers and a “better-than-linear TV brand experience for advertisers.”

The announcement of this partnership comes a few days before Netflix is scheduled to release its April-June earnings report on July 19. The company has projected even bigger subscriber losses for the past quarter. This year appears to be a rocky one for the firm, as it continues to lose customers.

Meanwhile, the announcement doesn’t delve into any specifics about the partnership. There’s no word on the exact timeline of the launch of the ad-supported tier. Moreover, it doesn’t reveal the price either.