Netflix Q&A
Answers about the Netflix/Microsoft Deal
Morning War & Peaceniks!! Welcome to our BREAKING NEWS Q&A edition!
Yesterday, I made a bold prediction about the agendas behind the Netflix/Microsoft Ad deal. Since then I’ve gotten a LOT of questions about it. Below are some of those questions with answers.
Why did Netflix choose Microsoft over Google & Roku Inc.?
A: #Netflix was never going with either of those two. They are DIRECT competitors. Plus, Netflix desperately needs cash. While #Microsoft brings the ad tech to the yard (via Xandr); Netflix still needs to pay their studio partners tens of billions of dollars in fees for the RIGHT to insert ads in their content.
AND, with subscriptions falling, fast, Netflix’s one-year streak of positive free cash flow is coming to an end; and their debt is mounting. Roku likely came nowhere near the minimum guarantee Microsoft offered. Google may have made an MG offer, but again, they are a direct competitor. Microsoft, today, is not.
PLUS: A gaming/TV bundle.
Does Microsoft really want to be in…
