Netflix: 40m ad tier subs; new ad tech platform
May 16, 2024
At Netflix’s second Upfront presentation at Manhattan’s Pier59 Studios on May 15th, Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s President of Advertising, walked advertisers through the continued growth and momentum of the streaming service’s ad-supported plan, which now has 40 million global monthly active users — up from 5 million a year ago. Over 40 per cent of all signups in the ads countries now come from the ads plan. In total, Netflix has 270 million subscribers.
Netflix also featured new partners that advertisers can use to measure and verify the impact of their campaigns, including Affinity Solutions, DoubleVerify, EDO, Integral Ad Science, iSpotTV, Kantar, Lucid, NCSolutions, Nielsen and TVision.
New Ad Tech
Looking ahead, Reinhard announced Netflix will launch an in-house advertising technology platform, by the end of 2025. This will give advertisers new ways to buy, new insights to leverage, and new ways to measure impact.
“Bringing our ad tech in-house will allow us to power the ads plan with the same level of excellence that’s made Netflix the leader in streaming technology today,” she said.
This summer, Netflix will also expand its buying capabilities to include The Trade Desk, Google’s Display & Video 360, and Magnite who will join Microsoft as the main programmatic partners for advertisers.
All of these enhancements are designed to make Netflix even better for clients. “We’re being incredibly strategic about how we present ads because we want our members to have a phenomenal experience. We conduct deep consumer research to make sure we stay ahead of the competition, bringing opportunities that are better for members and better for brands,” said Reinhard.
Engagement
Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, said: “Our audiences are highly engaged — and by engaged I mean that they are choosing to spend their time watching Netflix. That’s important because engagement is the key to success in streaming. When people watch our shows and movies, they get more value from Netflix, they stick around longer, and they’re more likely to recommend us to their friends. And this matters to all of you because you want to be where the audiences are, too.”
According to Nielsen, over the last three years, Netflix had more top 10 titles than every other streaming service combined.
Over 70 per cent of Netflix’s ad-supported members watch for more than 10 hours a month — which is 15 percentage points higher than the nearest competitor, according to Nielsen. Netflix members also pay even more attention three hours into watching than they do when they first start. And because they do, they’re around twice as likely to respond to an ad compared to other streaming services and linear TV.
New Series, Movies and Live Events
Bajaria also talked about how Netflix needs a variety of quality shows, movies and live events throughout the year — across many genres, cultures and languages. And that’s exactly what they’ll get in 2024 and 2025.
Netflix announced new series, including witty comedies like Golf, starring Will Ferrell and executive produced by Ramy Youseff and Rian Johnson, and Running Point, starring Kate Hudson and executive produced by Mindy Kaling.
Two new dramas will also be coming to Netflix: The Waterfront from Kevin Williamson, an adult family drama set in a small coastal town with twists and turns inspired by true events, and a contemporary cowboy saga starring Tim McGraw. And, Bajaria announced that the critically acclaimed series 3 Body Problem will also be back for all new episodes.
For sports fans, Netflix highlighted multiple new shows, including a new documentary series following the story of Jerry Jones and the 1990s Dallas Cowboys, and three series in partnership with the International Olympic Committee: Simone Biles: Rising which will follow the comeback of the greatest gymnast ever, a show spotlighting men’s basketball teams from around the world as they compete for medals, and Sprint, tracking the 100-metre sprinters.
New films announced include Happy Gilmore 2 starring Adam Sandler, The Woman in Cabin 10 based on the bestselling novel of the same name and starring Keira Knightley, and a new film from Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow. Netflix will be the global home of the NFL’s two Christmas Day marquee games this year. And we’ll be streaming at least one Christmas Day game in 2025 and 2026.
The Netflix Effect
Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee shared how Netflix shows and films influence culture — a phenomenon that has become known as the Netflix Effect. “It starts with wonderful stories that become unmissable moments for millions of fans,” Lee said. “But then it spreads across Netflix — where our trailers get billions of views — and across our social media channels, where we have a billion very active followers.”
The Netflix ads plan and live events now give advertisers even more opportunities to thoughtfully engage with this fandom, leveraging its growing marketing and creative teams to help more brands find a home in their world. “We’ll help you reach more fans and give you more access on-screen, off-screen, and during some of our biggest moments,” Lee said.
As an example of one of these new opportunities, the company announced that Celsius will be the first presenting sponsor for the upcoming live Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson event this July. Brand partners for the fight will have featured placements throughout the broadcast and customised branding inside the ring.
Closing the presentation, Peter Naylor, Vice President of Advertising Sales, said, “There’s a lot to be excited about over the next year. But the story of ads on Netflix this year is pretty simple: It’s about growth and momentum.”