Netflix says ad tier has 250 million viewers

Netflix said on May 13 that its ad-supported plan now reaches more than 250 million global monthly active viewers, giving the streaming company a much larger audience to sell to advertisers than it had a year earlier. The company disclosed the figure at its 2026 upfront presentation, where media companies pitch marketers on upcoming programming and ad inventory. Netflix also said more than 80% of members on the ads plan watch every week. The update adds another marker to the company’s effort to turn a lower-priced subscription option into a meaningful advertising business. ### How big is the ad tier now? Netflix said its ad-supported plan reaches more than 250 million global monthly active viewers. The company presented that number in viewers rather than subscribers, consistent with a shift it described in November when it said it was counting how many people are “actually on the couch” watching ad-supported programming. In November 2024, Netflix said the ads plan had reached 70 million monthly active users globally. (about.netflix.com) In November 2025, the company said ads on Netflix reached more than 190 million monthly active viewers. The new 250 million figure shows continued growth ahead of the 2026-27 advertising selling season. ### What did Netflix say about how often those viewers watch? Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, said at the upfront that “over 80% of ads members are actively watching every week.” Netflix tied that engagement to its programming slate, citing titles including “Wednesday,” “The Night Agent,” “Happy Gilmore 2” and “Stranger Things.” (about.netflix.com) Netflix has used similar engagement claims in earlier ad presentations. (about.netflix.com) At its 2025 upfront, the company said ad-supported members in the United States spent an average of 41 hours per month on Netflix, and Reinhard said members paid as much attention to mid-roll ads as they did to shows and movies themselves. ### How quickly has the ads business grown since launch? Netflix launched its “Basic with Ads” plan in the United States at $6.99 a month in November 2022. (about.netflix.com) One year later, the company said the plan had built what it called an “incredible foundation.” By May 2024, Netflix said more than 40% of signups in ads countries were coming from the ads plan. By November 2024, the company said more than 50% of new sign-ups in ad-supported countries were for the ads plan. (about.netflix.com) At the 2026 upfront announcement, Netflix did not repeat a new signup percentage in the official post it published on May 13. ### What else did Netflix tell advertisers this year? (about.netflix.com) Netflix said 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. The company said that expansion would give members more lower-priced plan options and advertisers more places to buy inventory. (about.netflix.com) The company also said video podcasts arrived earlier this year and that vertical videos are now available on mobile. Netflix said new ad inventory tied to podcasts and vertical video will be available globally in 2027, and Reinhard said the company is using AI-driven tools to help brands plan and buy campaigns. ### Where does this leave Netflix’s next step? Netflix said the next phase includes rolling the ads plan into those 15 additional countries in 2027 and opening new ad inventory around video podcasts and mobile vertical video globally in the same year. (about.netflix.com) The company’s next regular investor milestone on its calendar is its second-quarter 2026 earnings report, which its investor relations site lists for July 2026.