Netflix: ad spend 2014-2021

Netflix reported advertising expenses of nearly 1.67 billion U.S. dollars for 2021. This figure marked the third-highest ad spend in company history and represented a 13-percent increase from the previous year.

Netflix by the numbers

Netflix is the leading subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service worldwide based on user count and revenue. Since starting out as a DVD rental service in 1997, the company has revolutionized the global streaming scene. It now serves its vast catalog of TV shows and movies to audiences in over 190 countries. According to the streaming giant’s latest filings, Netflix’s annual revenue stood at 26.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. And while this figure marked the highest earnings in over two decades, revenue growth was much more modest than in previous years.

Will Netflix start to run ads?

Netflix’s advertising approach makes the platform stand out in today’s competitive streaming world. Unlike other services such as Amazon Prime Video or Sky, which play various ads before each program, Netflix has always prided itself on its ad-free content. However, this might no longer be the case as the company is starting to look into different pricing approaches to combat subscriber loss. The number of Netflix subscribers dropped for the first time in over a decade in early 2022, and as many viewers listed price as their main reason for canceling, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings revealed that adding cheaper ad-supported subscription options might actually be in Netflix’s future.