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Fresh off its 107 Emmy nominations, Netflix has another big number to brag about.
The platform has 278 million member households, it said in its Q2 earnings report on Thursday, up from about 270 million last quarter. With more than two viewers per household on average, the company estimates that it’s providing programming for around 600 million people.
The streamer reported 17% revenue growth, making nearly $9.6 billion in the three months ending June 30. One source of that revenue growth has been its ad tier, which grew 34% quarter over quarter and now accounts for more than 45% of sign-ups in markets where the streamer offers ad-supported tiers.
But that ad tier growth may come with a caveat: slightly lower average revenue per member. In the United States and Canada (UCAN) region, where it makes the most money per member monthly, ARM dropped from $17.30 in Q1 to $17.17 in Q2. (Within the UCAN region, Netflix grew its paid memberships to 84.1 million, up from 82.7 million in Q1.)
Go big or go home: Like other streamers, Netflix is looking for ways to drive its members to ad-supported plans. The streamer is getting rid of its Basic plan in the US and France, as it already did in Canada and the UK, and plans to test its in-house ad tech platform in Canada later this year, before expanding into more regions in 2025.
After beta testing “pause” or “keep watching” ads in May, Netflix has rolled out more than 60 pause ad campaigns with brands including Ford and Expedia, and has inked programmatic advertising partnerships with Magnite, The Trade Desk, and Google DV 360, which are set to debut this summer.
“We’re adding more sales folks, we’re adding more ads operation folks, [and] building our capabilities to meet advertisers,” Greg Peters, Netflix co-CEO, said on a call with investors. “A big component of that is giving advertisers more effective ways to buy Netflix. It’s a big point of feedback that we heard from advertisers.”
It’s also saying goodbye to others. Peter Naylor, the former Hulu executive who joined Netflix in August 2022 as VP of ad sales, is exiting the company, according to the Hollywood Reporter.