Netflix formalized an alliance with Microsoft to be able to launch its new product with advertising. The first step to a possible acquisition?
Netflix he’s not having a good time. Due to the loss of subscribers, the increase in competition, and the new more expensive plans, it launched in alliance with Microsoft a subscription with advertisements. Could it be the first step for a future purchase?
It may be an exercise in company fiction, but the first rumors about a possible sale have begun to emerge. And there, Microsoft, its unexpected partner in ad distribution, is the first candidate that comes to mind.
It is not the first time that the possibility of Netflix being acquired has been considered, but previous opportunities did not come to fruition. But now the company run today by Satya Nadella has been trying to get a foothold in the entertainment industry for some time, either through social networks —he was interested in TikTok— or in its extensive commitment to video games that has continued with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Streaming would fit there, and more so with its newly activated ad lever.
That would represent many business opportunities for Microsoft, in the same way that they already do in other technological giants such as Apple o Amazon.
Having an existing platform, oiled, and with projects already in the works, would be an advantage for Microsoft when it comes to wanting to enter the streaming business, and quickly compete with existing rivals.
“One of the reasons we partnered with Microsoft, [es que] there are a lot of fundamentals. They have a technical capacity, which is complementary to ours, a market exit capacity, which we need to take advantage of,” said Greg Peters, Netflix’s chief operating officer, during the earnings call. “We saw a high degree of strategic alignment in their interest in innovating in the space and really working with us for years to come.”
Microsoft could be one of the best candidates to buy Netflix
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In addition, Microsoft’s long-term interest in video games also dovetails nicely with Netflix’s own initiatives in recent months, where it has used video games as add-ons to increase user retention on mobile devices, Hipertextual said.
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