Netflix Ad-Supported Tier Users Double in Just Three Months

Netflix doubled its number of ad-supported tier users in just three months!

The streaming giant revealed that it has amassed 40 million subscribers for its most affordable, ad-supported tier. This is almost twice the 23 million reported in January! 🚀

This once again demonstrates the importance of ads for the internet. People are indeed willing to see ads in exchange for a lower price when given the option.

Despite a late start in the advertising game, even acknowledged by CEO Reed Hastings, Netflix's ad business is now in full swing.

The streaming platform has now a total of 270 million subscribers, with 15% of them receiving ads. In comparison, Disney+ has 117.6 million subscribers, while Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service has 99.6 million. Netflix is undoubtedly the king of streaming and was even dubbed the "gold standard" by its peers.

There’s more!

They announced plans to live stream two NFL games on Christmas day this year and to develop their own ad buying platform, ending their tech partnership with Microsoft. Ad inventory will be available either directly or through other programmatic platforms such as Google Display & Video 360.

Both are great news for advertisers!

A while back, I wrote about how user growth alone is not a strategy. It seems Netflix took note as they announced they will no longer share subscriber numbers. They claim it doesn't directly affect the company's bottom line. In fact, their business model has re-focused from mere user growth to a strong user monetisation through price differentiation and, indeed, advertising.

Once again, long live the ad-supported internet!

‍

‍