Copyright Variety
Netflix wants to throw another type of yardstick into the ever-evolving pile of audience-measurement tools. The streaming giant intends to institute a new measure for advertisers that tabulates how many of the 190 million monthly active viewers on its ad-supported tier see a specific commercial, the company’s president of advertising, Amy Reinhard, announced Wednesday. Netflix defines monthly active viewers as “members who have watched at least one minute of ads on Netflix per month multiplied by the estimated average number of people within a household,” a figure derived from Netflix’s own research. In past years, Netflix based its measurement on account profiles, or users, rather than the number of people in a home that subscribes to its service. In May, the company said its ads reached 94 million monthly active users, compared with 70 million in November of 2024. The switch to members of a household, instead of just an account, will clearly boost the audience numbers Netflix touts to potential sponsors — though it remains to be seen how much credence Madison Avenue will grant the new metric. The development comes as Netflix strives to become more competitive with its peers in the battle to win ad dollars from Madison Avenue. While there is no denying the company’s power in terms of developing compelling content, Netflix has less experience than many traditional media conglomerates when it comes to ad sales. The company has been racing to build a line-up of live specials and sports when the bulk of its offering comes from scripted drama, comedy and movies — the type of stuff that viewers tend to stream on their own, at moments of their own choosing, rather than together, which is still what many advertisers crave. That dynamic has crimped Netflix’ ability to woo ad dollars away from Disney, NBCUniversal and other media companies that have hours of live sports to sell, according to media buyers. These buying executives indicate that advertisers are certainly interested in Netflix’ progress in selling advertising, but note that the company has probably had more success in striking sponsorship deals of individual titles rather than selling sheer tonnage of its inventory. In recent months, Netflix has experimented with a talk show hosted by John Mulaney; struck a deal with TKO’s WWE to stream “Monday Night Raw”; and secured the rights to Christmas Day games from the NFL. People familiar with the matter expect Netflix to unveil a deal soon with Major League Baseball that will give the streamer rights to show the annual Home Run Derby as well as the Opening Day game. Netflix also has measurement deals with Nielsen, iSpot and Kantar in the U.S., and other measurement providers in different parts of the world. The company is also developing a line-up of advertising opportunities around programming likely to be watched by bigger audiences within a specific time frame. Netflix will show over the next several weeks the finale of “Stranger Things” and a new season of “Emily in Paris.” Peroni Nastro Azzurro has a deal to sponsor “Emily” in the U.S., while FanDuel, Verizon, Accenture, and Tide, among others, will sponsor the NFL games. Meanwhile, “Stranger Things” will benefit from multiple advertising hook-ups. PepsiCo will unveil a custom flavor of Doritos and revive its Gatorade Citrus Cooler. Target will also sponsor the show in the U.S. In Latin America, Fiat will offer a car with “Stranger Things” themes. Nestle will unveil cookie packaging tied to the series, and Unilever will introduce a new flavor Of Hellmann’s.
