With this surge, Netflix now boasts a total of 277.65 million paid subscribers worldwide, marking a 16.5 percent year-over-year growth.
Ad tier memberships have seen a significant increase of 34 percent quarter-over-quarter, driven by Netflix’s focus on its ad-supported tier. Last year, Netflix eliminated its cheapest ad-free “Basic” subscription tier, and earlier this month, the company began notifying customers in the UK and Canada that they would need to transition to a new plan.
In the United States, the Basic plan was priced at $9.99 per month, but the cheapest ad-free option now costs $15.49 per month. While Netflix had allowed existing Basic plan customers to continue their subscriptions, this option is being phased out. The ad-supported memberships, priced at $6.99 per month, include between four and five minutes of ads per hour. Ads vary in length from 15 to 30 seconds and play before and during TV shows and movies. Netflix plans to test an in-house ad tech platform in Canada soon, with a broader launch anticipated in 2025.
The company reported a 17 percent increase in revenue year-over-year and expects overall growth for 2024 to be between 14 and 15 percent. Netflix anticipates continued growth in ad memberships in 2025 and beyond, with ad revenue becoming a more significant contributor to its business.