Netflix upgrades the ad-supported CX again, with downloads
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John Moulding
| 02 November 2023
2 Netflix upgrades the ad supported CX again with downloads
Netflix is making downloads available from this week for users of its ad-supported tier, providing more evidence that the lower-priced option will be a compelling alternative to ad-free at the customer experience level. The streamer already upgraded ad plans to include 1080p and two concurrent streams.

Netflix has announced that the ad-supported plan has 15 million global monthly active users a year after it was launched. Amy Reinhard, President, Advertising at Netflix, has repeated the promise that the company will “build something bigger and better than what exists today” for advertisers,” and has been highlighting product build in year one and plans for year two.

Starting in Q1 2024, Netflix advertisers globally will be able to utilise a new binge ad format. Once a viewer has watched three consecutive episodes, they are presented with a fourth episode ad-free. In early 2024 the company will also introduce the ability to showcase QR codes in advertising creative in the U.S.

Sponsorships are now available in the U.S. and will expand globally in 2024, with title, moment, and live sponsorships. Title Sponsorship provides non-interruptive visibility, and you can see an example of what that looks like in the photo above, which was the first use of the format (Frito Lay’s Smartfood sponsoring the recent season of ‘Love is Blind’). Title Sponsors are lined-up for the new reality series ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’, and the final season of ‘The Crown’.

Moment Sponsorships become available at the end of this year in the U.S. and will roll out globally in 2024. These feature cultural moments for advertisers to tap into, like local holidays.

Live Sponsors will be able to market around live events – and as we reported previously, Netflix is streaming its first-ever live sports event at 1800 ET on Tuesday, November 14, when F1 drivers and PGA TOUR golfers are paired together for a nine-hole golf tournament at the Wynn Golf Club, Wynn Las Vegas – battling for The Netflix Cup. T-Mobile, Nespresso, and others will be the Live Sponsors for that.

Reinhard has also listed the achievements from the last 12 months, working in partnership with Microsoft Advertising. These include:
Rolled out third-party verification with partners like Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify globally. The company enabled advertising impact with EDO, and launched Nielsen ONE measurement in the U.S. (Netflix says it is looking to partner internationally with third-party providers to enable campaign verification in 2024).
Offering additional ad products and features. After starting with :15 and :30 second ads, Netflix can now run :10, :20, and :60 second ads globally – offering clients around the world multiple formats to leverage.
Expanding its category availability to include dating, enhanced financial services and pharma.
Enabling additional targeting, like against mobile devices, more genres, time of day, and continued audience demos.
Launched Top 10, so that advertisers globally can target the most popular series and movies on Netflix.


Reinhard declares: “We have built an incredible foundation, focusing on areas advertisers told us matter most. We want to help marketers tap into the amazing fandom generated by our must-watch shows and movies.”