Netflix said to be considering alternatives for ad operations
Mario Tama

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), which announced in July 2022 that it would use Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) as its global advertising technology partner, is reportedly considering alternatives, including going at it alone.
The streaming media giant has retained former Comcast chief product officer Jon Whitticom as an advisor on how best to proceed with its advertising ambitions, Digiday reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. 
The news outlet added the current deal between Netflix (NFLX) and Microsoft (MSFT) runs for two years and there is an option to renew. However, Netflix may wind up building its own advertising technology, including an ad server, or perhaps acquiring the technology.
On Netflix's (NFLX) most recent earnings call, COO Greg Peters said the partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) was good, but added improvements could be made, especially around targeting.
"...Weâre crawling and weâd like to get to sort of move to the walking phase," Peters said in January. "Weâve got a lot to do to get there. So there is a bunch of technical improvements in terms of ad delivery validation, measurement. Weâve got progress already on that, more to do in the next quarter or two." 
Netflix (NFLX) shares rose 1.5% in mid-day trading, while Microsoft (MSFT) gained nearly 3.5%.
Earlier this month, Loop Capital analyst Alan Gould said Netflix (NFLX) should see its sales rise as it tacks on extra charges for password-sharing.