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Apple has hired an advertising specialist from NBCUniversal as it continues to build out its rumored video advertising business for Apple TV+.
Apple has been rumored to be adding advertising to Apple TV+ for some time, which could help boost Apple's revenue from the streaming service. Apparently, the team is still being formed.
Joseph Cady, NBCUniversal's advertising chief, has jumped ship and signed a deal with Apple, according to Business Insider. Cady spent 14 years as an executive at NBCU and oversaw partnerships with other tech giants, having previously served in development and strategy roles.
It is believed that Cady will work with Winston Crawford, Apple's head of global ad sales and head of the team behind Apple TV+. He is also expected to work with Lauren Fry, another head of video advertising sales.
The hire is the latest in a string of similar moves by Apple to attract people with experience selling video and television advertising. Apple's hiring will likely be part of a larger effort to introduce an advertising layer to the ad-free Apple TV+ service.
Apple doesn't currently offer a version of Apple TV+ with any advertising, but that hasn't stopped its competitors from doing so. Netflix launched a “Basic with ads” tier in 2022, and Amazon Prime Video introduced ads in late 2023 unless customers paid $2.99 a month.
Apple has some experience with video advertising. In 2023, the company did sell some screen time to advertisers for some Major League Soccer matches, and live streaming has emerged as a promising place to show ads to users.
