Netflix has told advertisers that its new ad-supported streaming service would reach some 40 million viewers across the globe.
The estimate was revealed by the Wall Street Journal after the paper had sight of a document that has been shared with ad buyers by Netflix and its advertising partner Microsoft.
According to preliminary projections for a dozen launch markets that include the UK, France, Germany, Korea, Spain, Italy, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Japan, the number of ‘projected unique viewers’ is expected to be higher than the number of actual subscribers because more than one person in a subscribing household is likely to be able to watch the service – given Netflix’s plans to crack down on password sharing this is hardly surprising.
Netflix told the Journal it was still in the early days of launching its advertising tier and no final decisions had been made.
The streamer is hoping that a lower cost version of its service will help bring in new users and boost revenues. After initially launching without ads, the leading streaming services are now all looking at ad supported tiers with versions of Disney+, HBO Max and Paramount+ all in the works.
Netflix plans to sell 15- and 30-second spots that would appear during the pre-roll and within shows themselves. Ads will be restricted to around 4 minutes per hour, significantly less than on broadcast television.
The new Netflix advertising-supported tier will cost subscribers between $7 and $9 per month.
