Netflix has reported significant success in its second year of Upfront negotiations, with a substantial increase in advertising commitments. The streaming giant secured deals with all major holding companies and independent agencies, achieving a more than 150% increase in upfront ad sales commitments compared to 2023, aligning with the company's expectations. These commitments span key industries such as consumer packaged goods (CPG), technology, entertainment, automotive, quick service restaurants (QSR), and retail.
Several high-profile partnerships have been formed around Netflix's upcoming films and series. Titles like "Squid Game," "Wednesday," "Outer Banks," "Happy Gilmore 2," "Ginny & Georgia," and "Love is Blind" have attracted significant advertiser interest. Additionally, Netflix has secured deals for anticipated live events, including "WWE Raw" and the Christmas Day NFL games, showcasing the platform's broad appeal to advertisers.
Advertisers remain enthusiastic about Netflix's engaged audience and the quality of its content. For the third season of "Bridgerton," Netflix's sixth most popular English-language TV series, multiple international brands have signed on as on-screen title sponsors. These include brands like Pure Leaf, Amazon Audible, Puig, Booking.com, Stella Artois, and Hilton, underscoring the global reach and influence of Netflix's programming.
In recent developments, Netflix also partnered with leading brands like LVMH, COTY Gucci, Kaiku Caffee Latte, Aeromexico, Google, and Rakuten for the much-anticipated return of "Emily in Paris."
Netflix is also enhancing its advertising offerings with the launch of an in-house ad tech platform, set to debut in Canada in November 2024 and roll out globally in 2025. This platform is part of Netflix's broader strategy to provide advertisers with new ways to buy, gain insights, and measure impact. Marketers will have the capability to establish private marketplace deals directly with Netflix through platforms like The Trade Desk, Google’s Display & Video 360, and Xandr. The company is also expanding its verification solutions, with tools like Google’s Campaign Manager 360 and Innovid being introduced for impression verification, alongside existing partnerships with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science for fraud and viewability verification.
Furthermore, Netflix is extending its programmatic marketplace buys, currently available in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Mexico, to more global markets in the coming months. This expansion is supported by recent programmatic campaigns executed with major brands such as Expedia, Ford, T-Mobile, Mercedes-Benz, Novartis, and American Eagle.
To improve measurement capabilities, Netflix’s ad-supported plan will be included in Barb's Advance Campaign Hub (ACH) in the UK by September, facilitating easier campaign planning for advertisers. The company also plans to integrate its campaign performance measurement suite into NielsenOne, Lucid, EDO Inc., NCSolutions, Kantar, and Affinity Solutions later this fall.
Netflix has also partnered with clean room suppliers like Snowflake, InfoSum, and LiveRamp to provide a secure environment for both members and advertisers. These Clean Rooms will enable advertisers to assess audience overlap, post-campaign reach, frequency, and last-touch attribution securely. The Snowflake Data Clean Rooms are already available to partners, with InfoSum and LiveRamp set to launch in the coming months.
Overall, Netflix has made significant strides in building its ads business, from a successful Upfront market to enhancing its programmatic and global measurement capabilities. The company is committed to refining its ad-supported plan to ensure a positive experience for members while delivering effective solutions for marketers, allowing brands to connect with a highly engaged audience through some of the world's best content.