Netflix reports 250 million ad viewers

Netflix said at its 2026 Upfront presentation that its ad-supported service now reaches more than 250 million global monthly active viewers, a new benchmark in the company’s push to build a larger advertising business. The figure was published by the company on May 13 in a post tied to its fourth annual Upfront event. Netflix also said more than 80% of ad-plan members are actively watching every week, and framed the new audience scale as part of a broader pitch to advertisers around live events, new ad formats and international expansion. The number matters partly because Netflix is now emphasizing viewers rather than accounts. In a November 2025 post, Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, said the company had shifted to a “Monthly Active Viewers” measure, or MAV, defined as members who watched at least one minute of ads in a month multiplied by estimated viewers per household from Netflix first-party research. (about.netflix.com) At that time, Netflix said ads reached more than 190 million monthly active viewers globally. ### Why is Netflix talking about 250 million viewers instead of subscribers? Netflix said in November 2025 that its earlier ad reach measurement, based on account profiles, did not capture all of the people watching in a room. The company said the MAV measure was intended to give advertisers a fuller count of the audience seeing ads on the service. (about.netflix.com) That means the 250 million figure is not a subscriber total for the ad tier. For comparison, Netflix said at its 2025 Upfront that the ad-supported plan reached more than 94 million global monthly active users. The 2026 presentation uses “monthly active viewers,” reflecting the methodology change the company described later in 2025. (about.netflix.com) ### What else did Netflix tell advertisers at the Upfront? Amy Reinhard said Netflix’s next phase is about becoming “a formidable” advertising player after earlier years spent proving durability in the market. The company said its ad-supported business is adding inventory through shows, films, live events, podcasts and vertical video on mobile. Netflix also said new ad inventory tied to podcasts and vertical video will be available globally in 2027. (about.netflix.com) Netflix said it now offers AI-driven tools to help advertisers develop and optimize media plans, and is testing AI agents that can manage, optimize and purchase ads on the platform. The company also said it is using AI to adapt advertiser creative for formats including vertical video ads and pause ads. (about.netflix.com) ### How much of the pitch is tied to live programming? Netflix has increasingly linked its ad sales pitch to live events. In an August 2025 post, the company said it had more than doubled its U.S. upfront commitments and sold out all available in-game inventory for its 2025 NFL Christmas games, with sponsors including Accenture, FanDuel, Google and Verizon. (about.netflix.com) Netflix also cited advertiser interest in WWE Raw. At the 2026 Upfront, Netflix said its 2026 live slate will include more NFL coverage, including the first regular-season game live from Australia featuring the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers, a Thanksgiving Eve game between the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, two Christmas Day games and a Week 18 game. (about.netflix.com) ### Where is the ad business expanding next? Netflix said the 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. The company said the rollout will give members more lower-priced plan options and give advertisers more places to buy against Netflix programming. (about.netflix.com) The next milestones are already on Netflix’s calendar. In 2027, the company plans to launch ad-supported service in those 15 additional markets, while new ad inventory for podcasts and vertical video is also slated to become available globally that year, according to the company’s Upfront materials. (about.netflix.com)