As Netflix enters its fourth year in the advertising business, the company is making a significant shift in how it measures viewership for its ad-supported tier. The streaming service announced on Wednesday that it now reports over 190 million monthly active viewers (MAVs). This new metric counts subscribers who watch at least one minute of advertisements each month, further adjusted to account for household viewing using Netflix’s first-party research.
Previously, Netflix indicated last May that it had 94 million monthly active users, a figure tied to account profiles that the company admitted undercounted co-viewing. This is particularly important for live events, where multiple viewers may watch together. In its latest blog post, Netflix stated, “Our move to viewers means we can give a more comprehensive count of how many people are actually on the couch, enjoying our can’t-miss series, films, games, and live events with friends and family.”
The shift to an ad-supported model began in spring 2022, when Netflix reversed its long-standing opposition to advertising amidst declining subscriber growth due to the tapering effect of COVID-19. The implementation of this new model, through a partnership with Microsoft, saw the launch of an ad tier that has drastically expanded since its introduction. The integration of live programming, such as WWE Raw and NFL Christmas Day games, has opened up more advertising opportunities, appealing to price-sensitive customers with the $9-a-month plan as prices in the streaming industry continue to rise.
As it moves forward, Netflix reports that it now partners with thousands of advertising clients globally and has fully transitioned to its own ad-tech platform. This development includes programmatic solutions involving major players such as Amazon and Google. The company claims to have obtained “critical scale” in all its markets by partnering with over 50 global ad measurement vendors.
In addition to this measurement overhaul, Netflix is testing new interactive video ad formats in the U.S. and Canada, with the potential to integrate subscriber viewing behavior into advertising templates. Early results from these tests have shown promise, and Netflix anticipates a global rollout of these new ad formats by the second quarter of 2026. This innovation indicates Netflix’s commitment to enhancing viewer engagement and providing advertisers with more effective tools to reach potential customers.