Netflix’s ad ambitions just keep growing

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FollowSee All NewsNetflix’s ad ambitions just keep growingThe streaming service’s ad-supported tier now reaches 250 million viewers each month. The streaming service’s ad-supported tier now reaches 250 million viewers each month. by Emma Roth Emma RothNews WriterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Technical Details

FollowSee All by Emma RothMay 13, 2026, 6:45 PM UTC Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Emma Roth Emma RothPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

For the second year in a row, Netflix’s ad-supported tier more than doubled its monthly viewerbase. During its 2026 upfront presentation, Netflix revealed that its $8. 99-per-month plan reaches more than 250 million people around the globe, a significant leap from 94 million users reported last year.

The streaming service reported earning $1. 5 billion from ads in 2025, and now it’s finding more areas to stick them across its service. Starting next year, Netflix will start showing ads in the vertical video feed it just launched on its mobile app, and in the lineup of podcasts it began adding to the platform late last year.

Industry Implications

Netflix first rolled out its ad-supported Basic tier in 2022, and since then, it has not only grown in memberships but also in price. The streaming service has included the Basic plan in its recent hikes, making it cost $2 more than its $6. This week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cited Netflix’s ad-supported plan in a lawsuit against the company, claiming the service misled subscribers about the data it’s collecting about them for ads.

RelatedNetflix earned $1. 5 billion from ads in 2025Here’s what Netflix’s new vertical video feed is likeNetflix is expanding its ad-supported tier to 15 new countries as well, including Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Thailand. The service is also testing a new personalization tool that adjusts the ads its subscribers see “based on their viewing behaviors.

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This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.