Microsoft is Netflix’s new partner for an ad-supported subscription plan

Netflix has named Microsoft a partner for their newest consumer subscription plan. A dollar amount for the deal is not available, but the news comes via Microsoft which means Netflix will be using Microsoft’s sales technology to help power the upcoming ad-supported tier of the streaming service.

Under the partnership, all ads served on Netflix will be exclusively available through the Microsoft platform. Marketers looking to Microsoft for their advertising needs will have access to the Netflix audience and premium connected TV inventory. That’s all according to Mikhail Parakhin, President of Web Experiences at Microsoft who penned the blog post with the news.

As noted by CNBC, Microsoft apparently beat out (and was chosen) over rivals Google and Comcast. The deal was in the work for the last several months and the final ad-based plan on Netflix is expected to launch by the end of this year. In the words of Netflix COO Greg Peters.

Today we are pleased to announce that we have selected Microsoft as our global advertising technology and sales partner. Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we together build a new ad-supported offering. 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

As you might recall, Microsoft actually acquired Xandr back in 2021, which is an ad marketplace for connected TV. Microsoft also has the Microsoft Audience Network and PromoteIQ. All of this is likely to come into play with this partnership.