Co-CEO of Netflix says it’s seeking partnerships in ads and not a Roku takeover as many people seem to think.
Co-CEO of Netflix says it’s seeking partnerships in ads
As cited by many reports from a major advertising summit, Ted Sarandos of Netflix has stated that the company is looking to launch a cheaper subscription plan with ads via partnering with other existing companies.
Netflix co-CEO in the person of Ted Sarandos stated that the streaming giant is holding talks with several advertising companies in regards to partnerships that would help the company introduce a cheaper and simpler membership plan with ads, according to various reports.
Sarandos Official Statement
According to Reuters, Sarandos said ‘we are talking to all of them right now,’ when he was asked about a panel in regards to the adverting companies it is looking forward to partnering with. The panel set up by Sarandos was part of the Cannes Lions advertising summit held in France which is of course one of the major annual events for the advertising industry.
What Sarandos Comments Mean
The comments, and Netflix’s attendance at Cannes Lions for the first time, further assured the streaming company’s public commitment to introducing ads to its service. Back in April, when Netflix reported its first subscriber loss in almost a decade, co-CEO of the person of Reed Hastings reversed years of totaling dismissing any type of interest in advertising by revealing to the public that the streaming company was taking a “look at” a cheaper, ad-supported plan for Netflix.
Netflix, however, which doesn’t have an ad-sales department, would need to hire the necessary people and create its very own, acquire an entity to absorb an ad-sales team or even a technology, or get form a partnership or alliance with an ad company that is already in existence.
And on Thursday, the comment’s of Sarandos showed that the company is going after the latter.
Netflix Is Not Buying Roku
Co-CEO, Sarandos also played down the notion that Netflix is seeking to take over Roku, which is a company that’s built a growing business around its very own streaming service and platform with which people can watch free with advertising, known as The Roku Channel.
In regards to the speculation that Netflix would buy Roku, Sarandos said “I don’t know where that came from,” as per Deadline. But however, he left the door open to the idea of owning its very own advertising business in the future. “If it becomes so important [that] we want to have control over it, we might,” Sarandos said, as per Deadline.
The drop in viewers has buffeted the confidence of the industry in streaming as its engine into the future of television. Netflix’s years of unwavering growth drove almost all of Hollywood’s major media companies into pouring billions of dollars into their own streaming operations.
These so-called streaming wars came about a wave of new streaming services such as Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Peacock and Paramount Plus, and many others. The trend has so far complicated how many services you must make use of and also pay for in order to watch and stream your favorite shows and movies online.
The Reason Netflix Is Considering a Cheaper Plan
With the continued struggle in competition to get your attention and your subscription funds, most of the rivals of Netflix have geared into a two-tier model plan that offers a cheaper and simpler membership plan to watch with ads and as well as a more expensive plan without advertising.
Netflix paved the way for streaming TV, but however, its ads-free-only idea has fallen short of the standards of the industry at large as more competitors have come up with an idea to give viewers more streaming options.
