Netflix in 2024: Watch 3 Episodes, Get the Fourth Ad-Free

Brian Welk
·4 min read

Happy Ad-iversary, Netflix! The traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper, which is what Netflix has been stacking up through new revenue streams. The latest modification to one of those, its nascent ad-supported experience, will come in early 2024.

One year ago, Netflix launched ads, something industry watchers and Netflix executives thought would never happen. Now though the streamer has disclosed it has 15 million monthly active users globally on its ad-tier.

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But because the streamer remains relatively new to this world of advertising, it is still experimenting with how users experience ads on the service. Today, Netflix has 15 million monthly active users on its ad-supported tier — and the company just announced a significant shift for 2024.

In next year’s first quarter, Netflix will introduce the “Binge ad.” Per the streamer, viewers who binge three episodes of a show in a row will get a fourth episode ad-free. The ad-load won’t change for the ad-supported episodes, a person with knowledge of the plan told IndieWire.

It’s a win for users already plowing through four seasons of “Never Have I Ever,” for example, and it just might be a reason to attract new subscribers to the ad tier. If you’re an advertiser, it’s a carrot to incentivize longer periods of engagement. Netflix would like that too.

There are some other new ways your viewing experience will change if you have Netflix with Ads. Also in early 2024, Netflix advertising in the U.S. will be able to display QR codes. And certain shows will have direct sponsorship. We already have “Love is Blind” presented by Frito Lay’s Smartfood. Coming soon, both “The Crown” and “Squid Game: The Challenge” will have presenting sponsors. And Netflix’s first live sports event, November 14’s “The Netflix Cup,” is being presented by T-Mobile, Nespresso, and other companies.

Finally, launching this week is a function that will let people roll ads even while users download shows and movies for offline viewing. Other streamers don’t offer that.

“Our goal isn’t just to offer the same products and tools the industry has come to expect — although we’ve made a lot of progress on that front over the last year. It’s to build something bigger and better than what exists today,” Netflix president of advertising Amy Reinhard wrote in the blog post. “We want to shape the future of advertising on Netflix and help marketers tap into the amazing fandom generated by our must-watch shows and movies.”

Other functions that have popped on Netflix for advertisers are ads of varying lengths and targeted ads based on the streamer’s global or regional Top 10 lists.

Netflix with Ads Love is Blind
Netflix with AdsNetflix

Netflix recently announced price hikes to its ad-free Standard and Premium plans, but it kept the price the same for its ad-supported plan, which is $6.99/month. Pushing more users to the ad-supported plan is great for ARPU (average revenue per user — or “ARM,” average revenue/member, as Netflix calls it). Users on the cheap plan are ultimately worth even more money to Netflix than those who watch ad-free.

Streaming competitors have started to get the memo that ads are a great way to drive revenue — and to maybe even make those streaming services profitable. Disney+, Max, and Paramount+ have already introduced ad-supported plans, and Amazon announced it’ll soon be doing the same. (Apple TV+ might not be far behind.) Amazon already has a huge head start in this space compared to Netflix thanks to the fistfuls of ad dollars it’s getting from Freevee and live “Thursday Night Football” games.

Netflix previously didn’t break out how many subscribers are on the ad-supported plan versus the ad-free plans. The company recently disclosed it added 9 million subscribers in the summer quarter, and now has 247 million. Of the new signups in countries where Netflix offer ads, 30 percent opted to save money and watch commercials.

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