This week, MiC has enlisted execs from the Canadian media industry to offer their insights on the big programming and advertising announcements coming out of the 2024 Upfronts in New York. Today, Jeremy Johnston, director, activations for PHD, reports on Netflix’s two-day event.
After launching its ad-supported tier in November 2022, Netflix had planned an event at the 2023 upfronts, but then shifted to a virtual format to avoid Writers Guild of America picket lines. This year it is not holding back – the streamer kicked off day one of their Netflix Experience, with an immersive experience based on franchises such as Stranger Things and Squid Game.
Netflix’s expansion into an ad-supported model seems to be a hit. At its 2024 upfront presentation, the streamer said that it now has 40 million monthly users on its ad-supported tier globally. That’s up from 23 million earlier in the year. Netflix also said that, in regions where ads are available, more than 40% of new users are signing up for the ad-supported tier.
As part of announcing the milestone at its upfront, Netflix also revealed that it’s planning to launch “an in-house advertising technology platform.” Bringing its ad tech in-house will allow it to power the ads plan with the same level of excellence that’s made Netflix the leader in streaming technology today, Netflix’s president of advertising, Amy Reinhard stated.
(Canada will actually be the first market to test the ad-tech, before rolling out to the U.S. by Q2 of 2025. Then the rest of the world.)
The upfront also allowed the company to highlight to advertisers that it will offer more ad formats and capabilities for them to apply. These include third-party verification and Top 10 targeting tools, binge ads, title sponsorships and the recently announced pause ads where spots appear when a program is paused for five seconds or more.
Netflix proudly showcased a slate of upcoming projects, including new seasons of Bridgerton, Sweet Tooth, That ’90s Show, Dead Boy Detectives, Shane Gillis’ series Tires and Happy Gilmour 2. The streamer’s move into live events will be more of a focus for Netflix this coming year, with the company offering sponsorship opportunities within livestreaming of events like the boxing match between Jake Paul and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in July 2024. It will look to expand its recent offerings with The Netflix Slam, a tennis matchup in Las Vegas between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, as well as a golf event, The Netflix Cup.
In Netflix’s first move into big-league sports streaming, the streamer will be the global home of the NFL’s two Christmas Day games. In addition, it will have at least one holiday game in 2025 and 2026 as part of the three-year deal. Netflix also showcased that it is now the exclusive home of WWE’s Monday Night Raw beginning in 2025. In the past Netflix execs have repeatedly said the streamer isn’t interested in shelling out big bucks for massive sports-rights deals. However, with the current appetite for live sports it seems the company does not want to be left on the sidelines.
