As someone who hates commercials on TV, I’ve never felt more zen than with my Netflix disc-by-mail subscription circa 2005. Not only was there no commercials in the content (as it was on DVDs); There was no advertising text anywhere, not even any artwork on the paper sleeves. Clean movie.
Those days are over. There are no DVDs, and Netflix’s advertising business is responsible for a rapidly growing share of its revenue. If Netflix’s own claims are to be believed, its advertising level is seen by 250 million viewers per month. By my math, that’s about 3% of humanity 12 mostly rich countries Netflix’s ad-serving location will soon expand to 27.
Netflix also claimed around this time last year ad-supported Netflix reached 94 million people, more than doubling its claimed audience. The number of 2025 was twice as much It claimed to have a view count from May 2024. This means that the number of people viewing ads is increasing year by year.
To at least throw some cold water on Netflix’s claims, The deadline was written earlier this year According to research firm Digital i, ad-supported Netflix is up just 14% year-over-year. This is a huge discrepancy. To account for at least some of this difference, note that Netflix bases its reporting on the number of viewers (potential advertisers), not subscribers.
The Digital i report also states that only 40% of active Netflix subscriptions are ad-supported, which is important to keep in mind. Netflix still doesn’t make as much money from advertisers as it does from subscriber fees. according to story in the Wall Street Journal last yearNetflix is expected to make about $2.15 billion in ad revenue last year Total revenue for 2025 is $45 billionLess than -5%.
So when you’re watching Netflix with ads, remember that you’re seeing it every hour you’re on that screen up to five minutes of advertising— up to about 8% of your viewing time. That’s the amount of your life you’re giving up for something that’s only 5% of Netflix’s revenue.
