Comcast Was ‘Far Into the Mix’ of Winning Netflix AVOD Contract

Comcast was one of three companies, along with Google and Microsoft, vying to partner with Netflix on its forthcoming launch of an ad-supported VOD tier, acknowledged Comcast Deputy Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong during a Bank of America investment conference Thursday. The contract ultimately went to Microsoft (see 2207130048). When Netflix “globally went out and said, we need to have advertising capabilities” and would look “externally” to find them, “it was down to three companies,” said Armstrong. “If you think about what Comcast brought to the table, I would say we were at or near the top of the pecking order in terms of the capability set,” he said. “We may not have been willing to write the biggest guarantee around it,” but Comcast’s “prowess” in ad sales, distribution and technology “put us right there,” he said. “That was a great sort of cross-company moment to be that far into the mix on something that was that relevant.”