It was another turbulent week at Netflix, with announcements of additional layoffs and a swirl of speculation in the media about how…not whether…the company will introduce advertising on its platform.
Netflix’s CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed that his company was investigating details on introducing an ad-supported tier, but that this effort was still in its preliminary stages. One consideration is whether the company would manage its advertising using internal teams or partner with a third-party advertising company to sell ads on its platform. NBCUniversal’s Freewheel and Google have been floated as possible ad sales partners, with the stock prices for both companies jumping up after these rumors began to circulate.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, another 300 Netflix employees were given pink slips this week, coming on the heels of another 150 layoffs announced several weeks ago. Netflix’s stock has dropped more than 70% over the last 8 months. Sarandos projected calm amidst the storm in an interview at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, writing off the decline in his company’s stock price as “inevitable” and that their position in the streaming market remained exceptionally strong.
See also: Netflix Begins Second Round of Layoffs, 300 Positions Cut (Variety) and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Confirms Partner Talks For Ad-Supported Tier And Discusses Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais Backlash: Cannes Lions (Deadline)