Netflix’s ad tier has grown to 15 million monthly active users globally.
“We have built an incredible foundation, focusing on areas advertisers told us matter most, all while delivering unmissable entertainment at an unbeatable value,” advertising president Amy Reinhard, who was recently appointed after the departure of Jeremi Gorman, wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “Our goal isn’t just to offer the same products and tools the industry has come to expect — although we’ve made a lot of progress on that front over the last year. It’s to build something bigger and better than what exists today. We want to shape the future of advertising on Netflix and help marketers tap into the amazing fandom generated by our must-watch shows and movies.”
The milestone, which coincides with the one-year anniversary of the streamer’s offering, comes after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged during Bloomberg’s Screentime conference that the ad tier was still in its infancy and “definitely not at the scale we want it to be at yet.”
In Netflix’s third quarter of 2023, membership to the ad-supported tier increased nearly 70% quarter-over-quarter, with the offering now accounting for roughly 30% of all new sign-ups. While ad revenue will not be material to Netflix in 2023, the company said in its latest quarterly shareholder letter that it remains “very optimistic” about the ad tier’s long-term opportunity. Netflix boasts a total of 247.15 million subscribers globally.
In addition to disclosing the fresh user figures, Netflix touted its variety of ad formats that have rolled out globally, which include 10-, 15-, 20-, 30- and 60-second spots, new product categories such as dating, enhanced financial services and pharma. Other upgrades to the ad tier include access to 1080p versus 720p video quality and two concurrent streams, with a download feature expected to become available by the end of this week.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2024, advertisers will be able to utilize a new binge ad (wt) format that taps into the viewing behavior of watching multiple episodes in a row. After watching three consecutive episodes, subscribers will be presented with a fourth episode ad-free. In early 2024, Netflix will also launch the ability to showcase QR codes in advertising running on the platform in the US.
Additionally, sponsorships, which are currently available in the U.S., will expand globally in 2024 with title, moment, and live sponsorships. Netflix partnered with Frito Lay’s Smartfood for its first title sponsorship with the recent season of “Love is Blind” and will partner with additional sponsors for “Squid Game: The Challenge” and the final season of “The Crown.” Moment sponsorships, which will feature cultural moments for advertisers to tap into such as local holidays, will become available at the end of the year and roll out globally in 2024. On Nov. 14, T-Mobile, Nespresso, and others will be the presenting Live Sponsors for its live sporting event The Netflix Cup.
The company also plans to add more measurement capabilities for advertisers as it looks to add more third-party partners internationally. The company’s current measurement partners include Integral Ad Science, DoubleVerify globally, EDO Inc. and Nielsen ONE.
