Amy Reinhard, newly named president of Netflix Advertising, said the streamer’s advertisers can now reach 15 million global monthly active users.
Reinhard, who has been with Netflix since 2016, replaced Jeremi Gorman in October amid concerns the ad business wasn’t growing fast enough.
Netflix’s ad business is now a year old, and Reinhard’s announcement of 15 million users is a big jump over the 5 million Netflix cited before the upfronts and the 10 million claimed after the upfronts.
A lack of subscribers on the ad tier was the chief reason why in September Netflix chief financial officer Spencer Neumann said advertising would not generate a “material” amount of revenue.
In her statement Wednesday, Reinhard said she was excited about the progress Netflix has made in the ad business one year in.
“Our goal isn’t just to offer the same products and tools the industry has come to expect — although we’ve made a lot of progress on that front over the last year,“ she said. “It’s to build something bigger and better than what exists today. We want to shape the future of advertising on Netflix and help marketers tap into the amazing fandom generated by our must-watch shows and movies.”
Netflix, like other streamers, is looking to grow its ad business in part by raising prices on its ad-free tiers. It is also offering more features to subscribers to its ad tiers.
Reinhard noted that the ad plans now include 1080p video quality, an upgrade from 720p; two concurrent streams and downloading, which will be available by the end of the week, making Netflix the only ad-supported streamer to offer downloads.
Reinhard also talked about the expanding amount of ad products and formats Netflix is making available to sponsors.
Netflix started out offering 15- and 30-second ads. Now it has 10-, 20- and 60-second spots.
Netflix has added categories, including dating, enhanced financial services and pharmaceuticals, and can target mobile devices, program genres, time of day and audience demos, she said.
“Looking ahead, we’re excited to showcase even more new offerings and enhancements,” Reinhard said.
Netflix will start running binge ads in the first quarter. With that format, after watching three consecutive episodes of a show, the viewer will get a fourth episode ad free.
Early next year, Netflix will be able to include QR codes in creative running in the U.S.
Netflix will also be expanding the sponsorship programs it has available.
Title sponsorships started with Frito Lay’s Smartfood brand presenting Love is Blind.
“Coming up, we will partner with additional sponsors for the exciting new reality series Squid Game: The Challenge, and the highly anticipated final season of The Crown,” Reinhard said.
Moment Sponsorships will enable advertisers to tap into local holidays beginning later this year in the U.S. and will rollout globally in 2024.
On November 14, T-Mobile, Nespresso, will be among the presenting sponsors for Netflix’s live sports event The Netflix Cup.
“All of these updates help create the best experience for our clients and members, who are beloved fans of Netflix series and movies,” Reinhard said. “Coming up, we’re excited for members to dive into The Crown season six, Squid Game: The Challenge; All the Light We Cannot See, Berlin, Rebel Moon — Part 1; A Child of Fire and Leave the World Behind. This is just the beginning and we can’t wait to see what’s next.”
