When Netflix debuted its video streaming service back in 2011, it seemed like it would usher in the end of the television commercial. Fast-forward 14 years, and Netflix is now working on growing its own ad network and it thinks this is the future of the business. Well, that and AI.
Netflix execs told investors on Thursday that it is on track to double its advertising revenue this year. They did not say whether they would follow in the footsteps of other streaming networks and increase the ad load for existing customers, but they did announce that the service will be injecting interactive promotions into its content.
The company first introduced its ad-supported plan in late 2022. Since then, the more budget-friendly subscription tier has grown to 94 million users, and Netflix is now eager to cash in on those eyeballs.
In the first half of 2025 alone, viewers watched 95 billion hours on Netflix. The platform’s most-viewed series was the British drama Adolescence, which garnered 145 million views. Other top-performing shows included Squid Game, Ginny & Georgia, and the children’s show Ms. Rachel, hosted by the former YouTuber and advocate for children in Gaza.
In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said its goal is to monetize this “engagement” not only from subscriptions but also from advertising revenue.
That means Netflix needs to sell more ads, and it just made that easier by completing the global launch of its own first-party ad tech platform. “The rollout of our own ad tech stack, which helps deliver a bunch of features, and then our slate, which is generally amazing and includes a growing number of live events that advertisers are excited about,” co-CEO Greg Peters said during Thursday’s earnings call.
Peters also said that interactive ads, which are already used by rivals like Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, are coming to Netflix later this year.
Live programming is another part of the company’s ad push. Upcoming events include NFL games on Christmas Day and a high-profile boxing match between Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford. Big live events like these are attractive to advertisers due to their massive, real-time audiences.
Netflix didn’t say exactly how much of the $45.2 billion in its estimated revenue for the year will come from ads. But some analysts expect that number to surpass $4 billion. Back in October, Peters acknowledged that “while ads won’t be a primary driver of revenue in 2025,” the company sees a real opportunity to “close that gap.”
While Peters focused on ads, Netflix’s other co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, sounded pretty excited about another kind of tech — AI.
“We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,” Sarandos said on the call.
He pointed to the company’s upcoming Argentinian sci-fi series El Eternauta, which features what he described as the “very first GenAI final footage to appear on screen” in a Netflix show or film.
He said the show used AI-powered tools for a sequence showing a building collapsing in Buenos Aires.
“And in fact, that VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with visual, traditional VFX tools and workflows,” Sarando said. And, also, the cost of it would just not have been feasible for a show in that budget.”
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