Netflix says Basic users doubled, 250M ad reach

Netflix told advertisers on May 13 that its ad-supported service now reaches more than 250 million global monthly active viewers, up from more than 190 million viewers the company disclosed in November 2025. The figures were presented at Netflix’s fourth upfront event, where the company also said more than 80% of ads members are actively watching every week. Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, used the presentation to pitch the service as a larger and more established ad business. Netflix also outlined new ad products and said its ads plan will expand to 15 additional countries in 2027. ### How big is the jump from Netflix’s last ad update? Netflix last said on November 5, 2025, that its advertising business reached more than 190 million monthly active viewers, using a viewer metric that counts members who watched at least one minute of ads in a month and then applies an estimate of viewers per household. On May 13, the company raised that figure to more than 250 million global monthly active viewers. (about.netflix.com) The 250 million figure is the clearest number in Netflix’s latest pitch to advertisers because it updates the audience scale it can sell against. Reinhard said at the upfront that “if the last couple of years were about proving we’re a durable player, this year is about establishing ourselves as a formidable one.” ### What did Netflix say about engagement, not just reach? (about.netflix.com) Netflix said on May 13 that over 80% of ads members are actively watching every week. The company tied that engagement to a slate that included “Wednesday,” “The Night Agent,” “Happy Gilmore 2” and “Stranger Things.” The company also said in its 2025 upfront materials that the ad-supported plan had reached more than 94 million global monthly active users a year earlier. (about.netflix.com) That provides a second benchmark showing how quickly the audience disclosed to advertisers has risen over two upfront cycles. ### What else did Netflix announce at the upfront? (about.netflix.com) Netflix said new ad inventory across podcasts and vertical video will be available globally in 2027. The company said video podcasts arrived earlier this year and that vertical videos are now available on mobile. DoorDash, Target and TurboTax were named by Netflix as recent tests for AI-assisted ad creative that matches advertiser assets to shows, films and other parts of the service. (about.netflix.com) Netflix said it is also testing AI agents to manage, optimize and purchase ads on the platform. ### Where is the ads business expanding next? Netflix said on May 13 that its ads plan will expand to 15 new countries starting in 2027: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand. (about.netflix.com) Reinhard said the expansion would give members more affordable options and advertisers more places to reach audiences. The company’s 2025 advertising update said Netflix had already built its in-house Netflix Ads Suite across all 12 ad-supported countries and had expanded programmatic access through partners including Amazon, Google Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk and Yahoo DSP. ### How does this fit with Netflix’s recent pricing moves? (about.netflix.com) Netflix raised U.S. prices across its streaming plans in March 2026, with the ad-supported tier moving to $8.99 a month, the standard plan to $19.99 and the premium plan to $26.99, according to CNBC. Those increases came weeks before the company used its upfront to emphasize the scale of the lower-priced ad tier. (about.netflix.com) Netflix’s investor relations site shows its next major public checkpoint for the business was its first-quarter 2026 earnings interview on April 16, 2026. At the upfront, the next dated milestone the company gave advertisers was 2027, when the 15-country ads rollout and new podcast and vertical-video inventory are scheduled to begin. (ir.netflix.net) (cnbc.com)