Netflix has revealed that Microsoft will become the global advertising partner for the streaming service. A perhaps somewhat worrisome fact.
That things are not going very well for Netflix should no longer be called news. At the beginning of this year it lost no less than 200,000 subscribers, while a growth of 2.5 million was expected. Meanwhile, the expectations have been adjusted to another loss of an impressive two million subscribers in the period April-June. Hence the streamer is diligently looking for sources of income. One of these is a cheaper subscription with – yes – advertising. To promote that variant, among others, Netflix has embraced Microsoft for global advertising technology and as a sales partner.
Advertising in Windows?
Subconsciously, this immediately raises the question: Is this the moment when the first real advertisements will appear in Windows? Microsoft has been experimenting – to the annoyance of many – with low profile advertising injected into apps such as Explorer, the Start menu of course, and more recently the search screen. Commonly used components that most users cannot ignore. A billboard that is worth its weight in gold. Add to that the fact that both Netflix and Microsoft don’t have a whole lot to lose anymore. Microsoft especially not with Windows, which is still doing well in the business world but outside is rapidly losing ground to all kinds of other devices that do not have Windows as a basis. In short: wait and see what happens in the coming months! But don’t be surprised if you suddenly see a Netflix ad in some Windows component.