1 min readNetflix’s instream ads are outperforming other advertising services so it looks like they’re here to stay. At the streamer’s Upfront event, Netflix revealed the ad-supported Basic plan now has more than 94 million monthly users globally, and these users are highly engaged in not only content but advertising.
According to Netflix’s President of Advertising Amy Reinhard, ads on Netflix have 162% higher sales per impression, and triple the purchase intent when compared to other connected television advertising.
“When you compare us to our competitors, attention starts much higher and ends much higher.” said Reinhard, “And even more impressive, members pay as much attention to mid-roll ads as they do to the shows and the movies themselves.”
Favourable results like this for marketers makes it more likely advertisers will flock to the Netflix Ads Suite. For users this means more ads, and more incentives to opt for the ad-supported tier. Chances are these incentives will look like more price rises to ad-free subscriptions to encourage users to drop down and save money instead. We’ve already seen a version of this locally when Netflix Standard with Ads came in at $6.99/mth in 2022 to undercut Netflix Basic at $10.99/mth, before killing off Netflix Basic entirely in February this year.
Canada and US Netflix followed this same trend 18 months before Australia. During that time the Ad Suite was introduced and it looks as though we will see it flow through to our shores soon enough. While the in-house advertising platform is currently live in the US and Canada, it will hit Europe, the Middle East, and Africa next week with a further 12 countries to be added in June. If the timing trends continue Australian advertisers may gain access before the end of this financial year. If that happens, we can expect some extra price changes soon enough.
