Netflix has announced a partnership with Microsoft, where the Redmond technology giant will serve as a "global advertising technology and sales partner" for the streaming service's upcoming ad-supported subscription plan.
This year in April, Netflix announced that it was looking to add a cheaper ad-supported option to its subscription plans, following an unprecedented exodus of nearly 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of this year.
Historically, the company CEO Reed Hastings has maintained that he doesn't want to offer advertising on the service, and saw no problems with password sharing. The recent tumble of the company's shares may have convinced him otherwise.
In a blog post, Netflix said that Microsoft has the ability "to support" all their advertising needs and the two will work together to "build a new ad-supported offering".
Netflix also pointed out that Microsoft gives them the ability "to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members".
The company says that its still early days and they have much to work out but their long-term goal was, "More choice for consumers and a premium, better-than-linear TV brand experience for advertisers".
Through a blog post of their own, Microsoft's Mikhail Parakhin, President of web experiences at the company said they were, "thrilled to be named Netflix's technology and sales partner," and they were excited, "to offer new premium value to our ecosystem of marketers and partners while helping Netflix deliver more choice to their customers".
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