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The claim that Netflix’s ad-supported tier was “gathering momentum” dates to March 2023, months after the plan launched in the United States. At the time, the evidence pointed to improving adoption, not a proven new revenue engine: about 1 million US monthly active users and an estimated 19% of January sign-ups choosing the ad plan. By 2026, Netflix’s broader advertising business had become much larger, but the company’s latest global audience and revenue figures do not reveal how many US subscribers use the ad tier.
What the original momentum report actually said
Netflix launched its US ad-supported plan in early November 2022. In March 2023, a summary of Bloomberg reporting said internal Netflix figures put the service at about 1 million US monthly active users after its second month. Separately, Antenna estimated that 19% of new US sign-ups in January 2023 selected the ad tier; that share was often rounded to 20%. Bloomberg reporting summary and Antenna comparison summarized by Sophic Capital.
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Those measures describe different things. The roughly 1 million figure was monthly active users, not a disclosed count of paying accounts or households; one account can be used by more than one person. The 19% figure was a share of new sign-ups during a particular month, not 19% of Netflix’s full US membership. Neither number, by itself, establishes net subscriber growth or advertising revenue.
“Momentum” was therefore a modest but meaningful description of an early change in adoption and ad delivery. Netflix had entered a market where Hulu, Peacock, Disney+, Tubi and Pluto TV already had advertising operations, while Netflix was building its own. Advertisers had questioned whether the new service could deliver enough audience at launch. The reported figures suggested that the plan was gaining traction, but did not show that it had already become a major financial contributor.
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- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance
- Redemption: Online
Were people joining Netflix, or downgrading to the cheaper plan?
The early reporting said most ad-tier sign-ups came from new Netflix customers or people returning after canceling, rather than existing customers switching down from ad-free plans. That is encouraging for acquisition: a lower-priced option can make Netflix accessible to price-sensitive households or give lapsed customers a reason to come back.
But the report did not establish the longer-term balance between new customers, reactivations, downgrades, cancellations and retention. Those categories matter because an ad plan can add advertising income while reducing subscription revenue if a substantial number of existing customers trade down. A sign-up count also does not show whether customers remain subscribed or how much total revenue each account generates.
- Gross ad-tier sign-ups count people choosing the plan, whether new or existing customers.
- Net customer growth accounts for cancellations as well as additions.
- Monthly active users measure activity, not necessarily paying accounts or households.
- Advertising revenue reflects the advertising business and cannot be attributed solely to US ad-tier subscriptions without a company breakdown.
How Netflix’s early adoption compared with rivals
Antenna’s early comparison put Netflix at an estimated 19% of new US sign-ups choosing its ad tier, versus about 36% for Disney+ after its third month and about 21% for HBO Max after its third month. These were snapshots of early adoption, not a lasting ranking. The launches differed in timing, pricing, catalog, marketing and customer base, so the percentages are not a controlled comparison. Sophic Capital’s summary of the Antenna estimates.
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- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Redemption: Online
- No Returns and Refunds on Gift Cards
At launch, Netflix’s US plan cost $6.99 per month and offered a lower entry price in exchange for ads. Some titles were unavailable on the plan because of licensing restrictions. These are launch-era details, not current US plan terms; Netflix’s pricing, features and content availability can change. Netflix’s Q2 2024 shareholder letter discusses the launch-era price and the company’s approach to advertising.
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Netflix’s own language in 2024 showed that it still viewed advertising as an emerging business. In its Q2 2024 shareholder letter, the company said advertising was not expected to be a primary driver of revenue growth in 2024 or 2025. That caution is important context: the initial adoption report was not evidence of an immediate financial breakthrough.
The subsequent figures show a different scale. Netflix reported more than $1.5 billion in advertising revenue for 2025, over 2.5 times its 2024 advertising revenue. The company expected the figure to roughly double in 2026, and its Q1 2026 shareholder letter said it remained on track for approximately $3 billion that year. The 2026 amount is company guidance, not an achieved result. Netflix Q4 2025 shareholder letter and Netflix Q1 2026 shareholder letter.
Rank #3
- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
Advertising is only one part of Netflix’s business. Its commercial value depends on more than how many customers choose an ad plan: relevant factors include viewing hours, the amount of ad inventory sold, pricing, advertiser demand, measurement quality, customer retention and the effect of ads on subscription revenue. The company’s revenue disclosures demonstrate the growth of its advertising business, but do not isolate revenue from the US tier.
Netflix built more than an ad-supported subscription plan
After the launch, Netflix expanded its advertising technology and sales operation. The company said its proprietary Netflix Ads Suite was live in the US and Canada by May 2025 and later rolled out across its advertising markets. Netflix describes the platform as supporting targeting, measurement, data matching and programmatic buying. It has also named partners including LiveRamp, Experian, Acxiom, Yahoo DSP, Snowflake and Amazon Web Services. Netflix Upfront 2025 and Netflix Q2 2025 shareholder letter.
In May 2026, Netflix highlighted audience and reach APIs, data-clean-room integrations, programmatic buying through Amazon DSP and Yahoo DSP, programmatic Pause Ads and live inventory, dynamic ad insertion, and tests of personalized ad loads and frequency caps. It also described AI tools for planning, creative adaptation and campaign optimization. These features indicate a more developed advertising operation than the one Netflix had at launch; they do not establish how many US households subscribe to the ad plan. Netflix Upfront 2026.
Rank #4
- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
What Netflix’s latest audience figures do—and do not—show
Netflix said in May 2026 that its ad-supported service reached more than 250 million global monthly active viewers, and that more than 80% of ads-plan members were actively watching each week. These are global audience and engagement figures, not US subscriber totals. “Viewers” can include multiple people using one account, so the 250 million figure should not be read as 250 million paying households. Netflix Upfront 2026.
Netflix also said that 44% of members who saw an ad on its service had not seen it on broadcast television or other streamers, and that campaigns performed strongly on brand-building and purchase-intent measures. Those effectiveness figures come from Netflix’s own Upfront materials, not independent industry-wide verification. They are evidence of how Netflix presents its advertising proposition to buyers, not a substitute for independently comparable campaign results.
The public disclosures reviewed do not provide a current US ad-tier subscriber total, US ad-tier revenue, or a precise current plan mix for Netflix’s overall membership. As a result, the strongest defensible conclusion is that Netflix’s advertising business has scaled globally; its present US subscriber base on the ad plan cannot be determined from these figures.
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- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
What the ad tier means for subscribers
For a household, the basic trade-off is a lower monthly price in exchange for commercial interruptions. Whether that is worthwhile depends on the current price difference, ad frequency, the titles and features available on the plan, and how much the household values uninterrupted viewing. The launch-era catalog restrictions and price should not be assumed to describe today’s US offer.
Check Netflix’s current US plan details before switching, especially if you rely on particular titles, downloads, video or audio features, or simultaneous streams. Netflix’s signup page is the appropriate place to confirm current availability and terms; plan features can vary by date and market.
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