The Netflix Upfronts presentation this week trotted out the stars and shared video clips from its “something for every mood” roster of content. Aside from new shows, movies and live sports, the streamer’s main focus was on tried-and-true programming plus an expanded Netflix Ads Suite to help advertisers reach its audience, particularly the 94 million active users of its ad-supported tier.
Amy Reinhard, president of advertising (pictured), said the ad tier is heavy with 18-to-34-year-olds, engaged users that spend 41 hours per month on the platform. Some of the stats she quoted were that ads on Netflix have eight-times higher brand favourability compared to the connected TV (CTV) average, 162% higher sales per impressions versus the CTV average, and three-times higher purchase intent.
The Netflix in-house advertising platform, Netflix Ads Suite, has been available to advertisers in the U.S. and Canada since November 2024. The platform has expanded the suite’s data capabilities to allow advertisers to incorporate their first-party data, either through LiveRamp or Netflix, to match data sets against Netflix’s ads audience.
Third-party data access has also been granted to partners like Experian and Acxiom, plus Netflix is also developing a clean room strategy for data collaboration in a secure, privacy-protected environment. Measurement capabilities are also being expanded with the development of new solutions, starting with a brand lift tool that ties viewing behaviours to consumer brand perceptions.
Creative formats are also being revamped. A new modular framework was introduced that uses generative AI to match advertisers’ ads with relevant shows. This will include interactive mid-roll and pause formats with added overlays, call-to-action and second-screen buttons. These formats will be available by 2026 in all ad-supported countries.
Sponsorships were also part of the presentation with the announcement of several global co-branded creative campaigns coming this year, including Wendy’s, Cheetos and Booking.com, for the return of Wednesday.
Heading the programming list is the return of fan favourites such as Bridgerton for season four and Nobody Wants This season two, along with the top three performing Netflix series The Squid Game, Wednesday season 2, and Stranger Things is back for its fifth and final season.
Netflix is also betting big on sports. With the successful showing of two live NFL games this past Christmas, Netflix announced it will be back this year with two live NFL Christmas Day Matchups. This is in addition to its weekly WWE programming, with the platform also announcing that new live sports events coming to Netflix will include a Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano rematch fight on July 11. A number of sports-related shows are also on the schedule, including America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders season two.
