Marketing Eye Blog Articles

Netflix has moved from being a subscription-only streaming giant to one of the most important players in connected TV advertising. For marketers, this is not just another media buying channel. It signals a larger shift in how audiences are reached, how campaigns are measured and how brand advertising is becoming more data-led, more targeted and more commercially accountable.

Connected TV, often referred to as CTV, is television content watched through an internet-connected device. This includes smart TVs, streaming sticks, gaming consoles and apps like Netflix, Hulu, Disney , Peacock and YouTube. Unlike traditional television, CTV gives advertisers the ability to reach viewers with more precision, using audience data, household-level targeting and programmatic buying technology.

Netflix’s move into advertising changed the CTV market because it brought premium entertainment inventory into the advertising ecosystem. For years, Netflix resisted advertising. Its brand was built around uninterrupted viewing, premium content and subscriber revenue. That changed when Netflix launched its ad-supported plan in November 2022, creating a new way to monetize price-sensitive audiences while opening the platform to brands. By May 2024, Netflix said its ad-supported tier had reached 40 million global monthly active users, up from 5 million a year earlier. It also said that 40% of sign-ups in countries where the ad tier was available were coming from the ad-supported plan.

Netflix is building a new advertising business, not just selling ad slots
The most important thing marketers need to understand is that Netflix is not simply inserting ads into shows. It is building an advertising infrastructure around premium video, programmatic buying, data, measurement and eventually its own ad technology.

Netflix initially worked with Microsoft to support its advertising business, but it has since expanded programmatic access through partners including The Trade Desk, Google Display & Video 360 and Magnite. Reuters reported that Netflix planned to introduce its own in-house advertising technology platform by the end of 2025, while also working with these programmatic partners to accelerate automated ad buying. Magnite also announced that it had been selected as a key global programmatic advertising partner for Netflix, with activation through DSPs including Google DV360 and The Trade Desk.

This matters because programmatic CTV gives marketers a more sophisticated way to buy television-style media. Instead of buying broad time slots against assumed demographics, advertisers can use digital-style targeting, frequency management and campaign reporting. The result is a version of television advertising that looks far more like digital media buying.

Why Netflix CTV advertising is attractive to brands
Netflix has three advantages that make it especially powerful in the CTV advertising market.

First, it has premium attention. Netflix content is watched in a high-engagement environment. People sit down to watch a program, often on the largest screen in the home. That is different from scrolling through social media, where ads compete with low attention and fast consumption.

Second, Netflix has strong audience data. As a subscription platform, Netflix knows how people consume content across profiles, households, devices and viewing behaviors. While privacy rules restrict how that data is used, the platform still has the ability to create more relevant audience segments than traditional television.

Third, Netflix has cultural impact. Shows, documentaries, live events and original content can become part of mainstream conversation. When a brand appears in a premium content environment, it benefits from association, not just reach.

For marketers, this creates a rare combination: brand awareness, audience targeting and measurement in one media environment.

What sits behind Netflix CTV programming
Behind Netflix’s CTV advertising model are several layers of technology and commercial strategy.

1. Ad-supported subscription economics
The ad-supported tier gives Netflix another revenue stream beyond monthly subscription fees. It also allows the company to attract users who may not want to pay for higher-priced plans. For Netflix, this improves market reach. For advertisers, it creates access to audiences who are actively watching premium content.

The ad-supported model is particularly important as streaming platforms compete for subscriber growth. Lower-cost plans help reduce churn and attract new viewers, while advertising increases average revenue per user when scaled effectively.

2. Programmatic buying infrastructure
Programmatic advertising allows brands and agencies to buy media through automated systems rather than traditional manual insertion orders alone. In Netflix’s case, partnerships with platforms such as The Trade Desk, Google DV360, Magnite and Microsoft have helped make Netflix inventory accessible to major advertisers.

This is where Netflix becomes particularly relevant for modern marketers. Programmatic buying enables audience targeting, campaign pacing, frequency controls, budget optimization and more timely reporting. It allows CTV to be planned alongside broader digital campaigns, including display, video, audio, social and search.

3. Premium inventory control
Netflix is not an open marketplace in the same way as many digital ad environments. It controls the content, the user experience and the ad load. That is important because CTV advertising depends on quality. Too many ads can damage the user experience. Too little scale can reduce advertiser value.

Netflix’s challenge is to balance monetization with the viewer experience that made the platform successful in the first place. For brands, this controlled environment can be a benefit because it reduces some of the risks associated with low-quality inventory, fraud and poor placement.

4. Measurement and attribution
CTV has historically been used for awareness, but advertisers increasingly expect performance accountability. Netflix’s advertising model sits within a broader industry push toward better CTV measurement. Marketers want to know not only who saw an ad, but whether exposure influenced website visits, search behavior, store visits, sales or brand lift.

This is why CTV is becoming more important in integrated marketing strategy. It can no longer sit in isolation as a brand-only channel. It needs to connect with search, website analytics, CRM, email marketing, paid media and sales outcomes.

5. Live content and event-based advertising
Netflix has also moved further into live programming, including sports and event content. Reuters reported that Netflix planned to stream two NFL Christmas Day games as part of its push into more live programming.

Live content changes the advertising opportunity because it creates appointment viewing. Audiences watch at the same time, social conversation increases and advertisers can align campaigns with major cultural moments. This brings Netflix closer to the traditional strengths of broadcast television, but with the added benefit of digital delivery and targeting.

Why this matters for small and mid-sized businesses
CTV has traditionally felt out of reach for smaller businesses because television advertising was expensive, hard to measure and often built for large brands. Programmatic CTV is changing that.

While Netflix advertising may still be better suited to larger budgets or agency-managed campaigns, the direction of the market is clear. CTV is becoming more accessible, more targeted and more measurable. That means businesses need to start thinking about how video, audience segmentation and brand storytelling fit into their broader marketing strategy.

A business does not need to advertise on Netflix immediately to learn from Netflix’s CTV model. The lesson is that the future of advertising is integrated. Brand awareness, digital targeting, content quality and performance measurement are becoming connected.

For example, a B2B company may use CTV to build awareness in a specific geography, then support that campaign with LinkedIn advertising, Google search, retargeting, email nurture and sales outreach. A consumer brand may use CTV to create demand, then measure whether search volume, website traffic and direct sales increase during the campaign period.

The strategic issue most marketers miss
The mistake many businesses make is treating CTV as a media buying decision only. It is not.

CTV requires a strong marketing strategy before media is purchased. Marketers need to know:

Who is the audience?

What problem does the brand solve?

What message will make someone care?

What action should the viewer take next?

How will the campaign be measured?

How does CTV connect with search, social, website, email and sales?

Without this structure, CTV can become an expensive awareness exercise. With the right strategy, it can support brand building, demand generation and pipeline growth.

What Netflix teaches us about the future of marketing
Netflix’s CTV advertising model reflects the future of marketing in five ways.

First, media is becoming more data-driven. Even premium television-style environments are moving toward audience targeting and automated buying.

Second, brand and performance are no longer separate. CTV can build awareness, but it must also connect to measurable business outcomes.

Third, content quality matters more than ever. In a premium streaming environment, poor creative stands out for the wrong reasons.

Fourth, platforms are becoming media ecosystems. Netflix is not only a content company. It is becoming an advertising, data and technology business.

Fifth, marketers need better integration. The brands that win will not simply buy CTV. They will connect CTV to a full customer journey.

The Marketing Eye perspective
For businesses watching Netflix’s move into CTV, the message is clear: advertising is becoming more sophisticated, but strategy is becoming more important.

The platform may change. The media channel may evolve. The buying technology may become more advanced. But the fundamentals remain the same. Businesses need clear positioning, strong messaging, customer insight, channel planning, creative that earns attention and reporting that connects marketing activity to commercial outcomes.

CTV, including platforms like Netflix, is not a replacement for marketing strategy. It is another reason businesses need one.

Marketing Eye works with companies to identify where channels like CTV, paid media, SEO, content, email, PR and social media fit into a broader growth plan. The opportunity is not to chase every new platform. The opportunity is to build a marketing strategy that knows when to use each channel, why it matters and how it contributes to revenue.

Netflix’s CTV programming is not just about streaming ads. It is about the next phase of media, where premium content, audience data, programmatic technology and measurable marketing come together. For brands, this is a major opportunity. For businesses without a strategy, it is another place to spend money without knowing what is working.

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