Netflix upfront ad commitments surge as NFL games, Squid Game boost appeal

Netflix saw a more than 150 per cent surge in upfront ad commitments for this year, the streaming giant said on Tuesday, thanks in part to the National Football League (NFL) games coming to the platform on Christmas Day.

In its second year of upfront negotiations — where networks and media companies aim to secure ad commitments for upcoming shows — Netflix successfully closed advertising deals with all major holding companies and independent agencies.

The California-based company secured partnerships for several high-profile properties, including the popular series 'Squid Game' and 'Wednesday,' as well as the upcoming movie "Happy Gilmore 2.'

It also closed deals for live events, including WWE Raw and the Christmas Day NFL games.

As competition intensifies in the streaming space, major players like Warner Bros Discovery's Max and Walt Disney's Disney+ have also turned to ad-supported plans and streaming bundles to boost growth.

Streaming services are also increasingly investing in sports content to attract a larger, younger audience and more advertisers willing to pay for premium live sports content.

Facing saturation in subscriber growth in the United States, Netflix has been beefing up its advertising business, although the business is not expected to become a primary driver of revenue growth until at least 2026.

The company last month reported its ad tier membership grew 34 per cent sequentially in the second quarter.

Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier of the service in November 2022 as it tried to offset escalating costs of creating original content and licensing deals to keep viewers on the platform.

The cheaper, ad-supported plan hit 40 million global monthly active users in May.