Your Netflix plan will get cheaper, now that Microsoft is adding ads to it
Netflix. Photo: Unsplash
After a not-so stellar year, Netflix is collaborating with Microsoft for its first ever ad-supported, cheaper subscription offering. Microsoft will be acting as Netflix’s global advertising technology and sales partner in this collaboration.
While it is not yet known when this plan will be rolled out for the public or available in India, here is what we know:
- Through this collaboration, viewers will have more options to surf through Netflix.
- Marketers approaching Microsoft for advertising will gain access to Netflix’s audience and premium connected TV inventory.
- Ads that appear on the streaming giant’s platform will completely and exclusively be available through the Microsoft platform.
“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,” Netflix COO, Greg Peters said.
Peters confirmed that the new ad-supported subscription plan will be cheaper in comparison to Netflix’s current ad-free subscription plans. He also said that Netflix’s ads-free basic, standard, and premium plans will continue to exist after the new subscription offering is released.
Which subscription plans does Netflix have?
Why is Netflix collaborating with Microsoft? On June 23 this year, Netflix announced that it is laying off 300 people from its workforce, primarily in the US. In May, the streaming giant had already laid off about 150 people from its US workforce.
Back in April, for the first time, Netflix had reported a drop in it subscribers and the announcement caused the company’s stock to lose 70% of its value in 2022.
As a result, in June 2022, Reuters reported that the streaming giant was in conversations with many companies for advertising partnerships in order to recover losses. Apart from Microsoft, Netflix was in conversation with were Google and NBC Universal.