(Reuters) – Netflix Inc is in talks with several companies for advertising partnerships, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on Thursday, as the streaming titan looks to plug slowing subscriber growth by rolling out a cheaper plan with ads.
Media reports from earlier this week said it was in discussions with Alphabet Inc’s Google and Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal for potential marketing tie-ups.
“We’re talking to all of them right now,” Sarandos said at the Cannes Lions conference when asked which company Netflix was looking to partner with.
Alphabet and Comcast did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
After losing subscribers for the first time in a decade and projecting a 2 million decline in the upcoming quarter, Netflix said in April that it was seriously looking at advertising.
“We’re not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We’re adding an ad tier for folks who say ‘hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch ads’,” Sarandos said at Cannes Lions.
Netflix’s most formidable challenger – Walt Disney Co’s Disney+ – has also said it would introduce an ad-supported tier, as the pandemic boom in streaming fades, competition tightens and rising inflation pinches consumer spending on entertainment.
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)