Apple's newest hire is another step towards ads in Apple TV+

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Apple has been rumored to be adding advertising to Apple TV+ for a while, which could help raise Apple's revenue for the streaming service. It appears that it is still fleshing out the team that will helm the effort.

Joseph Cady, an NBCUniversal ad executive, has reportedly jumped ship and signed up with Apple, according to Business Insider. A 14-year exec for NBCU, Cady oversaw partnerships with other tech giants, having previously worked in development and strategy positions.

It is thought that Cady will be working with Winston Crawford, Apple's head of global ad sales and chief of a team that supports Apple TV+. He is also expected to work with Lauren Fry, another video ad sales executive.

The hiring is the latest in a string of similar moves by Apple to secure people with experience in video and TV ad sales. Apple's hiring spree is likely to be part of a larger effort to introduce an advertising tier to the ad-free Apple TV+ service.

Currently, Apple doesn't offer a version of Apple TV+ with any advertising, but that hasn't stopped its rivals from doing so. Netflix launched a "Basic with Ads" tier in 2022, while Amazon Prime Video introduced advertisements in late 2023 unless customers paid $2.99 per month.

Apple does have some experience with video advertising. During 2023, it did sell some screen time to advertisers for some Major League Soccer matches, with live TV a promising venue for serving commercials to users.