Netflix’s ad-tier surpasses 94 million users as the platform looks to AI to further growth

The news: Netflix made several announcements about the state of its ad-supported tier at its Upfronts event on Wednesday, highlighting its growth as it looks to maintain streaming dominance.

• The company’s advertising tier has passed 94 million subscribers, and maintains more 18 to 34 year-old ad-supported users than any cable or broadcast provider.
• Netflix also highlighted that its subscribers are much more engaged with Netflix than other platforms, spending 41 hours monthly on the service.
• The platform made another big announcement: It’s developing pause ads and interactive mid-roll ads incorporating generative AI, a feature that will start showing up in 2026.
• Netflix’s in-house ad tech suite, which includes new programmatic buying, data, and measurement options, is now live in the US and Canada, and the company plans to roll out to other markets.

Per ad chief Amy Reinhard, “Attention [on Netflix] starts higher and ends much higher. And even more impressive, members pay as much attention to mid-roll ads as they do to the shows and movies themselves.”

Zooming out: The subscriber announcement comes despite Netflix claiming it wouldn’t disclose subscriber counts as part of its Q1 earnings. Netflix’s announcement signals confidence in its advertising venture and that its AI investment will bolster growth—and the numbers support this notion.