Per The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix told advertisers at the upfronts that its “advanced in house ad tech suite” is now live in the U.S. and Canada and includes “new data options, more programmatic buying options and additional measurement options.” Its new AI ad product will “marry advertiser copy and ads to each show.” Netflix has the “ability to combine best-in-class technology with shows and movies that everyone is watching and talking about,” ads chief Amy Reinhard explained. “So while a lot of companies are either/or—either they have great technology, or they have great entertainment—our superpower has always been the fact that we have both. And because our audience is unique, engaged and attentive, a dollar spent on Netflix is more valuable than a dollar spent anywhere else.”
Media Play News describes the plan as “AI-generated interactive advertising midroll and pause ad formats.” The Verge reports that Netflix “demonstrated an example that placed the image of a product over a background inspired by one of its shows, like Stranger Things.” Is this just AI-assisted product placement? Netflix is good at reinventing the wheel as a slightly worse wheel. This new (but possibly old) frontier of advertising will reportedly be integrated into the platform’s ad tier beginning in 2026.
Reinhard touted 94 million users subscribed to Netflix’s ad tier, with a more engaged user base than competitors and more 18-34 year old ad supported users than any broadcast or cable network, per THR. “When you compare us to our competitors, attention 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,” she told the crowd. Seems to us a deeply unlikely claim to make; if Netflix is already making “second screen” content, how can they claim its users are actually watching the ads and not scrolling on their phones? But hey, if those advertising checks are clearing, guess it doesn’t really matter.
