By Brian Steinberg
Netflix competes with both traditional media and technology companies for advertising, says DoubleVerify CEO
Netflix, the streaming giant that is still relatively new to Madison Avenue, appears to be gaining more and more advertisers on its side.
The streamer said it had completed the bulk of negotiations related to the “upfront,” the annual industry market in which U.S. media companies seek to sell a large portion of their commercial inventory ahead of their next programming cycle. Netflix said in a memo attributed to Amy Reinhard, president of advertising, that it had secured “an increase in upfront ad sales commitments in 2023, in line with our expectations,” which it described as “150% plus.” Netflix did not provide specific volume figures for last year or 2024.
The directional growth appears robust, but Netflix remains a smaller player in the U.S. market compared to traditional rivals like Disney, NBCUniversal or Paramount Global. Media buyers say the total number of U.S. subscribers to its ad-tier isn’t necessarily substantial enough to justify large-scale deals at this point. Still, some advertisers have made commitments to Netflix to forge strong ties amid expectations that the company’s ad-tier subscriptions will grow.
