As we have known for almost a month now , Netflix will soon introduce a new subscription at a reduced price, which will include advertisements.
Now, Greg Peters , the company’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer, has revealed that the platform will lean on Microsoft:
In April, we announced that we will introduce a new, reduced-price, ad-supported subscription plan for consumers in addition to our existing basic, standard and premium ad-free plans. Today we are pleased to announce that we have selected Microsoft as our global partner for advertising technology and sales.
Peters added:
Microsoft has demonstrated its ability to meet all of our advertising needs, allowing us to build a new ad-supported offering together. Above all, Microsoft has offered the flexibility to renew itself over time both technologically and commercially, as well as strong protections for the privacy of our members.
Shares of Netflix were up 2% after the news.
Route change
The company has made a clear about the possibility of introducing a subscription with advertising. Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos ‘ company had long rejected this option, only to change their mind after losing 200,000 subscribers at the end of the first quarter of the year.
Last month, Sarandos said:
We have overlooked a large segment of the clientele, which is people who say, “Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind the ads.” We will add a subscription with advertising, we will not add advertising to Netflix as you know it today.