WSJ News Exclusive | Comcast’s NBCUniversal, Google Among Front-Runners to Partner With Netflix to Help Create Ad-Supported Tier

A partnership with NBCUniversal would likely be exclusive, the people familiar with the matter said. Comcast’s video ad unit, FreeWheel, would supply technology to help serve up ads, while NBCUniversal’s ad sales team would help sell ads in the U.S. and Europe, the people said.

A partnership with NBCUniversal would likely involve revenue-sharing, and one issue might be whether Netflix will be guaranteed a certain amount of revenue, they said.

Linda Yaccarino,

chairman of global advertising and partnerships for NBCUniversal, would be a major player in such a partnership.

Google brings to the table its own ad serving technology and experience in video through YouTube and its online channel bundle, YouTube TV, people close to the discussions said. Google already has a commercial relationship with Netflix, which is a major customer of its ad-buying tools, they said. It is likely Google would also pursue an exclusive arrangement.

“We are still in the early days of deciding how to launch a lower priced, ad supported option and no decisions have been made,” a Netflix representative said.

Roku Inc.

ROKU 4.83%

has also had early talks with Netflix about ad partnerships, the people familiar with the matter said. The Information previously reported that Netflix talked to Comcast and Roku about getting help on technical infrastructure or ad sales.

—Suzanne Vranica contributed to this article.

Write to Sarah Krouse at [email protected], Patience Haggin at [email protected] and Lillian Rizzo at [email protected]