In another tumultuous move in the marketplace, Netflix announced that it has selected Microsoft as its advertising partner and sales partner.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella confirmed the news via Twitter on Tuesday, July 13.
While Microsoft is celebrating this triumphant partnership, it's the latest example of Google's losing battle in the ad market.
Just in February, The Trade Desk began deprecating Google Open Bidding from its platform.
Catherine Peterson, general manager of publisher development at The Trade Desk, gave us an official quote on their decision to remove Google Open Bidding.
"Our advertising clients have become increasingly aware of how Google's Open Bidding platform tilts the market in favor of certain players. With this in mind, we launched OpenPath, which allows publishers to use our platform. provides the ability to directly integrate with advertiser demand to create an objective, efficient benchmark. Additionally, the support we've received from both the buy and sell side since the deprecation of Google Open Bidding has Highly encouraged with redistribution of media spend in more open, objective and transparent ways. Other partners following in deprecating open bidding is a great step towards more competitive and fair auctions.
Fast forward a few months, two other DSPs, Yahoo and Amobee, followed Trade Desk and removed Google Open Bidding in June.
On the same day as the Microsoft and Netflix announcement, Digital Turbine also announced its new, unified brand after a round of acquisitions of AdColony, Fyber, and Appreciate. These are mobile ad platforms and ad technology from DSP.
That leaves nine major digital ecosystems wresting some control of the marketplace from Google – all in the last six months.
Microsoft has quietly grown in the marketplace over the past few years.
However, his recent efforts over the past year have shown that he is willing to take on more real estate in the advertising market.
In December 2021, Microsoft announced its plans to acquire Xandr from AT&T. The acquisition was intended to help accelerate the delivery of its existing digital advertising and retail media solutions.
The acquisition of Xandr was a significant move into the open web for Microsoft, which was previously known for its presence in the search and native advertising space.
Summary
If you haven't considered Microsoft as a potential advertising platform for your brand, now is the time. With its ever-changing expansion of offerings, Microsoft now supports multiple brand objectives that go beyond its initial core search offering.
Will we see more brands taking a stand against Google in the advertising market? Probably.
While Google is still one of the main players on the open web, other platforms and technologies are finally getting their chance to shine – where marketers are the ultimate winners.