Netflix announced 40 million global monthly active users for its ad-supported plan on May 15, 2024. That figure is a historical milestone, not the plan’s current reported audience: Netflix later announced more than 94 million monthly active users in 2025 and more than 250 million monthly active viewers in 2026.
What Netflix’s 40 million figure meant
At its May 15, 2024 Upfront presentation to advertisers, Netflix said its ad-supported plan had 40 million global monthly active users, up from 5 million a year earlier. Netflix also said that over 40% of signups in countries where its ad plan was available came from the plan. These were company-reported figures in an advertiser-facing announcement, not independently audited audience counts. Netflix’s 2024 announcement
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Netflix called the metric “monthly active users,” but its announcement did not define how it counted them. The figure therefore should not be read as 40 million paid subscriptions, households, or unique individuals.
How Netflix’s reported audience changed
| Announcement | Netflix’s reported metric | What the wording establishes |
|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2024 | 40 million global monthly active users | Netflix said the figure was up from 5 million a year earlier. Netflix, 2024 |
| May 2025 | More than 94 million global monthly active users | Netflix’s later announcement reported a higher user figure. Netflix, 2025 |
| May 2026 | More than 250 million global monthly active viewers | Netflix used “viewers” rather than “users” for this milestone. It also said more than 80% of ad-plan subscribers actively watched Netflix each week. Netflix, 2026 |
The later figures show why 40 million should be described as a 2024 snapshot. Netflix’s announcements do not explain whether measurement methods stayed identical across these milestones, so the figures should not be treated as a perfectly like-for-like time series.
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Why Netflix announced the number
The 2024 milestone was presented by Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s President of Advertising, at the company’s second Upfront presentation to advertisers. Netflix also said its programmatic buying capabilities would expand to include The Trade Desk, Google Display & Video 360, and Magnite, joining Microsoft as main programmatic partners. Those details describe Netflix’s 2024 announcement; they do not establish the partners’ current status or access.
Netflix framed the milestone in promotional terms, saying: “When you advertise with Netflix, you can reach the most engaged audience in the world.” That is Netflix’s advertising claim, not an independently established comparison. The company’s 2026 Upfront announcement discusses its Netflix Ads Suite and later integrations, including Amazon DSP and Yahoo DSP, as advertiser-facing developments.
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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
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
Rank #2
- 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
What the audience figures do—and do not—tell you
- They identify the audience metric Netflix chose to report: monthly active users in 2024 and 2025, then monthly active viewers in 2026.
- They do not establish the number of individual paying subscribers or the number of people in households using the plan.
- They come from Netflix announcements, rather than an independent audit of audience size.
- Netflix’s cited announcements do not provide the methodology behind the monthly active user or viewer counts.
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