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Before you pick up a pitchfork or prepare to send out an angry message on social media, take a deep breath.

There will still be an option to pay for Netflix without any adverts, but yesterday the company announced it will partner with Microsoft on a new cheaper, ad-supported subscription plan.

In April, the streaming giant let on that this was a possibility as a last resort in the wake of one of the roughest periods in its 25-year history.

2022 first-quarter figures released that month showed Netflix lost subscribers for the first time in more than 10 years. This sparked a collapse in share price and sent Netflix to the bottom of the S&P 500 Index.

More on the Netflix and Microsoft partnership via CNN:

Netflix told employees it may come by the end of 2022 [and] said Wednesday that the move is in “very early days” and that the company has “much to work through” when it comes to introducing an ad tier to its 221.6 million subscribers globally.

Microsoft’s formidable ad sales unit will bring that new tier to life. Greg Peters, Netflix’s chief operating officer and chief product officer said Wednesday in a statement that “Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate” in both technology and sales, as well as pledged strong privacy protections for Netflix members.

Part of the joy of Netflix is one episode of a series rolling over into the next uninterrupted, which gives you the perfect excuse to act helpless in the midst of a marathon binge session. Stranger Things season four record numbers, here’s looking at you.

These ads better not mess with that flow.

It’s reported that over the course of the year, Netflix has been interviewing potential partners such as Google and Comcast, but Microsoft is the only company locked in at present.

The announcement may have been made now in order to soften the blow of what’s coming next week. This via CNBC:

Netflix is slated to release quarterly earnings Tuesday. It had previously warned it could lose 2 million subscribers during the second quarter. Netflix shares have dropped more than 70% year-to-date. The company’s stock was up more than 1.5% in Wednesday afternoon trading on an otherwise down day for the markets.

If Netflix ever sorts out its password-sharing problem, we could see quite a turnaround in both subscriber numbers and share price.

That’s as long as there isn’t a revolt at the idea of paying a lower monthly fee for the presence of ads. To me, that seems like a fair enough trade-off.

[sources:cnn&cnbc]