Written by Kianna Best on Jul 14, 2022. Posted in Production News

Netflix and Microsoft partner to bring new ad-supported subscription

Microsoft has been named Netflix’s global technology and sales partner for their new ad-supported subscription option. This will be a feature in addition to their existing basic, standard, and premium plans. The plan to include advertising was announced by the streaming platform in April 2022 and the chosen partner was announced 13 July 2022.

Netflix’s COO Greg Peters stated: “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.”

Image courtesy of Charles Deluvio by Unsplash

This endeavour not only offers more subscription options for Netflix consumers but gives marketers, who are looking to Microsoft for advertising, the access to Netflix’s audiences and television inventory. Microsoft’s dedication to providing privacy and protecting customer information was an attractive feature for Netflix in their decision-making process.

“Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we together build a new ad-supported offering,” added Peters. “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.

Image courtesy of Microsoft

Microsoft’s president of web experiences supported the recent partnership: “This is a big day for Netflix and Microsoft. We’re excited to offer new premium value to our ecosystem of marketers and partners while helping Netflix deliver more choice to their customers.”

Netflix has had some past marketing experiences, working with Coca-Cola and Old Spice, who used The Witcher cast to promote their deodorants, in order to help Netflix gain the attention for their new show launches. With the use of characters embedded into the brand promotion plans, it gave the streaming platform the opportunity to get a taste of the advertising industry, preparing them for their more permanent relationship with Microsoft.

Image courtesy of Old Spice

The main goal for this collaboration is for Netflix to provide more subscription services for their audiences, making viewership as accessible as possible. It will also give advertisers the opportunity to bring their content to a modern means of visual broadcasting. With the recent 20,000 subscriber decline and slow revenue growth that Netflix faced at the beginning of the year, the variety of plans that will now be offered because of this partnership suggests a proactive stance in once again increasing their numbers.