That’s a wrap for Netflix’s second-ever upfronts.
On Tuesday, Netflix said it netted a 150% increase in ad sales during upfront negotiations this year compared to last year. Investment came from brands across multiple verticals, including travel, auto, retail, fast food and consumer-packaged goods.
But Netflix declined to share hard numbers, so there’s no baseline to know how its year-over-year growth translates into ad dollars.
Still, this positive growth trajectory in ad sales is a good sign for Netflix’s programmatic ambitions.
Beginning earlier this month, Netflix started selling via one-to-one private marketplace deals through The Trade Desk and Google’s DV360 in addition to Microsoft’s Xandr. Until now, Microsoft has been Netflix’s exclusive partner powering its ad-supported tier.
It makes sense that Netflix is expanding its roster so as to not rely too heavily on one partner as it gears up to take more control over its ads business. In May, Netflix announced plans to build its own ad tech.
The timing of that announcement was no coincidence. Netflix’s programmatic upgrades could help encourage more buyers to spend bigger budgets on Netflix programmatically throughout the year.
Netflix has been running several programmatic campaigns over the past few weeks with large advertisers such as Expedia, T-Mobile, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, American Eagle and Swiss pharma company Novartis.
Netflix pursues programmatic prowess
Netflix also has a few other advertising updates in store.
PMP deals for Netflix inventory, which today are only available in the US, Canada, Brazil and Mexico, will expand to new markets over the next few months.
And starting in November, Netflix will also start selling its inventory through programmatic guaranteed deals, not just PMPs. Programmatic guaranteed deals work like automated insertion orders and could help Netflix attract more traditional TV advertisers that aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of programmatic bidding.
Also, because Netflix CPMs are now more affordable – around $30 or below, down from roughly $60 since first launching ads in 2022 – it could help sweeten the deal for prospective buyers.
Meanwhile, measurement upgrades are also in the cards for Netflix advertisers.
Later in the fall, all advertisers will be able to access measurement reporting from Nielsen ONE, Kantar, EDO, NCSolutions, Affinity Solutions and Lucid by Cint, regardless of how they choose to buy ads on the platform.
As for verification, starting in October all Netflix buyers will be able to verify impression delivery using Innovid and Google Campaign Manager. Direct buyers can already use Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify to verify ad viewability and validate traffic for Netflix campaigns, and beginning in October, programmatic buyers will be able to do the same.
Last but not least, next month, Netflix’s ad-supported plan will be a part of Barb’s Advanced Campaign Hub. Barb Audiences, formerly known as BARB (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board), is a British TV ad measurement trade org that isn’t too unlike the broadcaster-backed joint industry committee in the US.
To maintain its momentum in the streaming wars, measurement will have to be Netflix’s next top priority.
