Netflix continues to strengthen its advertising business, with the streaming giant announcing that its ad-supported tier has crossed 250 million monthly viewers globally. The milestone marks significant growth from the 94 million viewers reported last year, highlighting increasing consumer adoption of lower-priced ad-supported streaming plans.
During its 2026 upfront presentation, Netflix revealed that its advertising business generated nearly $1.5 billion in revenue in 2025, signalling the company’s growing ambitions in the digital advertising space. As part of its next phase of expansion, the platform is introducing new advertising opportunities across emerging content formats and user experiences.
Starting next year, Netflix plans to roll out advertisements within the vertical video feed recently introduced on its mobile app. The company will also extend advertising to podcasts added to the platform last year, expanding monetisation opportunities beyond traditional streaming content.
Netflix first launched its ad-supported Basic plan in 2022 at a starting price of $6.99 per month. Following several pricing updates, the subscription currently stands at $8.99 per month.
The company is also accelerating the global expansion of its ad-supported offering, adding 15 new markets including Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
In addition, Netflix is testing new personalisation features aimed at delivering more relevant advertising experiences based on users’ viewing preferences and behaviour. The move reflects the platform’s broader strategy to create a more targeted and scalable advertising ecosystem as competition within streaming continues to intensify.
