Netflix to launch in-house advertising tech platform

Source: Netflix

Netflix is to launch a new in-house advertising technology platform by the end of next year. The company revealed the plan at its second annual upfront for advertisers.

The decision to acquire technology independence for its ad offering comes as Netflix announced that its ad-supported tier now has over 40 million global monthly active users, up from five million a year ago.

Netflix said that over 40% of all sign-ups in countries where the ad-supported plan is available now chose Netflix with ads.

“Bringing our ad tech in-house will allow us to power the ads plan with the same level of excellence that’s made Netflix the leader in streaming technology today,” said Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising.

The move marks a shift away from Netflix’s advertising tech partnership with Microsoft. The streamer had leaned on the technology giant to get its ad-supported offering up and running, but with increasing scale it appears now to have decided the time is right to run its own tech stack and bring in additional partners.

Netflix will this summer expand its buying capabilities to include The Trade Desk, Google’s Display & Video 360, and Magnite who will join Microsoft as the main programmatic partners for advertisers.

“We’re being incredibly strategic about how we present ads because we want our members to have a phenomenal experience. We conduct deep consumer research to make sure we stay ahead of the competition, bringing opportunities that are better for members and better for brands,” said Reinhard.

Netflix said that over 70% of its ad-supported members watch for more than 10 hours a month — which it said, citing Nielsen, is 15 percentage points higher than its nearest competitor.