Netflix said its ad-supported plan had 23 million global monthly active users (MAUs) in January 2024. That figure counts people who used the plan during a month; it is not a count of paid subscriptions or households. Netflix later reported 40 million ad-tier MAUs in May 2024, so 23 million is a historical milestone, not the latest figure in the available announcements.
What Netflix’s 23 million figure measures
On its January 23, 2024 Q4 earnings call, Netflix management said, “We’re now at 23 million MAUs, and we see that continuing to grow in the quarters ahead.” Netflix Q4 2023 earnings call
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MAU means monthly active user: a person using the ad-supported plan during a month. It does not mean 23 million paid subscribers, unique households, or people watching at the same time. The January announcement did not provide a full geographic breakdown or a verified split between new customers and people who switched from an ad-free plan.
How Netflix’s ad audience grew
| When | Netflix’s reported figure | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| November 2022 | Ad-supported plan launched | Netflix introduced the tier. |
| November 1, 2023 | 15 million global MAUs | Netflix’s figure one year after launch. Netflix announcement |
| January 2024 | 23 million global MAUs | The milestone announced on the Q4 earnings call. Netflix Q4 2023 earnings call |
| May 15, 2024 | 40 million global MAUs, up from 5 million a year earlier | Netflix’s later reported audience figure. Netflix Upfront announcement |
The reported totals rose from 15 million in November 2023 to 23 million in January 2024, then to 40 million by May 2024. These are snapshots from different reporting dates, not a monthly growth rate or a count of how many people newly subscribed in each interval.
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What the milestone meant for advertisers
A larger active audience made Netflix’s ad tier a more substantial potential reach for advertisers. Netflix’s May 2024 announcement named measurement and verification partners including Affinity Solutions, DoubleVerify, EDO, Integral Ad Science, iSpotTV, Kantar, Lucid, NCSolutions, Nielsen, and TVision. Netflix Upfront announcement The partner list indicates an expanding measurement ecosystem; it does not establish that every service was available in every market.
Netflix also said that by May 2024, more than 40% of signups in countries where the ads plan was available came through that plan. This describes the share of signups in those countries, not the share of all Netflix customers or the proportion of the global audience using ads.
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How much ad-tier customers watched
Reuters, reporting Amy Reinhard’s CES comments, said 85% of customers on Netflix’s ad-supported plans streamed for more than two hours per day. Reuters report That is a reported viewing-duration statistic for customers on the plans, not a breakdown of the 23 million MAUs and not a measure of ad impressions or revenue.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare this figure with other streaming services
A fair comparison needs to match the measurement and the reporting period. Before comparing audience claims, check:
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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
- Metric: MAUs count active people; subscriber totals, households, and viewers are different measures.
- Date: Netflix’s 23 million figure refers to January 2024; its later May 2024 announcement reported 40 million.
- Geography: Netflix described the MAU totals as global, but did not supply a complete country-by-country breakdown in the January sources.
- Plan availability and price: These can vary by country and date, so comparisons should use the same markets and period.
- Switching: The reported total does not establish how many users were new to Netflix versus customers moving from an ad-free plan.
Without those distinctions, putting an MAU total next to another service’s household or subscriber figure can make the audiences look more directly comparable than they are.
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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
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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
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