Netflix has partnered with Microsoft to provide customers with a lower-cost subscription plan that will include advertisements. The streaming service will be an "addition" to the company's existing plans, which do not include advertisements. The company has not disclosed how much it intends to charge subscribers for the new service.
Netflix made the announcement after reporting its first subscriber loss in more than a decade and laying off hundreds of employees earlier this year. It lost 200,000 subscribers between January and March, compared to the 2.5 million analysts expected the company to add during that time period. Netflix now anticipates losing another two million subscribers between April and June.
The company announced that it had chosen Microsoft as its global advertising technology and sales partner in order to launch a "lower priced ad-supported subscription plan."
"We're still in the early stages. However, our long-term goal is clear. More options for consumers and a more premium, non-linear TV brand experience for advertisers," Netflix's chief operating officer Greg Peters said in a statement. Netflix never wanted ads. Its entire business model was built around monthly subscriptions.