Netflix just changed how it counts people who watch ads on its platform, and the new numbers are pretty impressive. The streaming giant introduced a “Monthly Active Viewers” metric that nearly doubles their reported ad viewer count to 190 million people worldwide.
The old way of counting only looked at individual profiles watching ads, which missed something important. When families gather around the TV for movie night or friends binge-watch a series together, the previous system only counted one viewer. That’s like counting only the person holding the remote when the whole couch is watching.
Netflix’s new approach is smarter. It counts subscribers who watch at least one minute of ads each month, then multiplies that number by how many people are actually in the room watching. This captures the real picture of communal viewing, which happens a lot more than you might think.
Netflix’s smarter counting method captures the reality of family movie nights and friend binge-watching sessions that old metrics completely missed.
The timing couldn’t be better for Netflix‘s business goals. The company expects its ad revenue to more than double in 2025, jumping from about $650 million in the U.S. last year to over $1.3 billion next year. Globally, they’re aiming for more than $2 billion in ad revenue.
Advertisers are getting excited about these bigger numbers. Having 190 million viewers sounds much more attractive than the smaller counts from before. Netflix has also expanded its ad-supported tier to 12 countries, giving brands more places to reach potential customers. The company’s programmatic buying rates are showing higher growth as more advertisers embrace automated ad purchasing.
The company isn’t stopping there. They’re rolling out better targeting tools that will let advertisers reach specific groups based on education, income, and family status. They’re also testing dynamic ads during live events like WWE matches and NFL games. Netflix executives are now in the “walk” phase of their advertising framework, focusing on improving buying, targeting, and planning campaigns.
This metric change shows Netflix is serious about competing with traditional TV advertising. By being more transparent about who’s actually watching, they’re building trust with advertisers who want to know where their money is going.
The question now is whether other streaming services will follow Netflix’s lead or stick with their current counting methods. Either way, Netflix just made itself look a lot bigger in the advertising world.
