Netflix reveals take-up of ad tier at New York upfront

Netflix has pulled back the curtain on its advertising-supported subscription plan during its Upfront in New York, revealing that almost five million customers have taken up the option since its launch six months ago.

In a presentation to advertisers, Netflix said that it is “making steady progress” on its ads push, with 80% of viewing from those on ad-supported plans watching on a TV screen.

The streamer, which has 232.5 million global subscribers, added that a quarter of its new customers were taking the ad-supported plan where available, while the median age of viewers was 34. Netflix added that 70% ad-supported members are aged between 18 and 49.

Greg Peters, Netflix co-CEO, claimed that the streamer’s viewing across Nielsen’s Top 10 most watched lists in the US was three times greater than its competitors combined, with Disney+, HBO Max and Prime Video among companies on that list.

“This year alone, according to Nielsen, we’ve had the number one original TV show on streaming in the US for 15 out of 16 weeks — and the number one movie for 14 weeks,” he said.

Bela Bajaria, the streamer’s chief content officer, added it wanted “to focus on quality, with the understanding that quality, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.”

Bajaria added: “No other entertainment company aspires to create great movies and shows across so many genres, in so many countries, and for such a broad, diverse audience.”

The global streamers are increasingly looking to broaden out their slates, with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max the most notable example, with content plans across all genres.

Netflix pointed to upcoming shows including Shawn Levy’s All The Light We Cannot See, Griselda and 3 Body Problem as key launches in the coming months, alongside returning shows such as Bridgerton, Stranger Things and Formula 1: Drive To Survive.