Netflix told Upfronts attendees its ad-supported tier now reaches more than 94 million global monthly active users, including more 18-34-year-olds than any other U.S. broadcast or cable network. The total grew by 20 million since November, when Netflix last publicly shared the tally. Making a case for ad support in a competitive market, Netflix President of Advertising Amy Reinhard added that the streamer’s U.S. users are “highly engaged, spending an average of 41 hours per month on Netflix.” The ad-supported tier was added in November 2022 and costs $7.99 per month (versus $17.99 monthly for the entry level ad-free plan).

“Even more impressive, members pay as much attention to mid-roll ads as they do to the shows and movies themselves,” Reinhard said in a news post.

“The company and its peers have been increasingly leaning on advertising to boost the profitability of their streaming products,” says CNBC.

Netflix pitched advertisers on new ad features including the ability to “incorporate first-party data from either LiveRamp or Netflix itself ” for programmatic use, TechCrunch reports, adding that “one new ad format will use generative AI to match ads to Netflix shows.”

Perplexity AI says the AI-powered ad formats “will seamlessly integrate product placements within shows and films, allowing brands to ‘marry’ their products with Netflix content through generative AI technology.”

“For viewers on the ad-supported plan, this means commercials that visually blend into the atmosphere of what they’re watching, appearing mid-show or even when the program is paused,” writes Business Today.

Netflix CMO Marian Lee discussed recent ad highlights, including two Domino’s spots that leveraged “Squid Game” (promoting the food company’s “Emergency Pizza” offer by rescuing contestants with well-timed deliveries) and a TurboTax episode takeover of “WWE Raw” that included custom video of WWE stars talking taxes, per Variety.

As for new programs and renewals, actors Jude Law and Jason Bateman took to the stage to talk up their upcoming drama series “Black Rabbit.” Clips unspooled from “Bridgerton” Season 4 and the third and final season of “Squid Game,” which premieres June 27.

On the live stream front, there’s a July 11 boxing rematch pitting Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano and two Christmas Day NFL matchups in its second year of the Yule tradition: Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings.

“In addition, Netflix will livestream the 32nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on March 1, 2026, and will stream its own ‘Netflix Tudum 2025: The Live Event’” fanfest on May 31, 2025, TechCrunch says.

Related:
Netflix Will Use AI to Make Ad Breaks Look Less Like Ad Breaks, The Verge, 5/15/25
Netflix Has Figured Out a Way to Make Ads Even Worse Using AI, Engadget, 5/18/25