Netflix says advertisements on its platform now reach more than 190 million monthly active viewers (MAVs) worldwide, marking a new milestone in the company’s growing advertising business.
The streaming giant announced the figure on Wednesday, introducing MAVs as a new measurement standard that reflects the actual number of people — not just accounts — exposed to ad-supported programming.
Netflix defines a monthly active viewer as someone who has watched at least one minute of ad-supported content, adjusted for household viewing averages based on the company’s internal research.
“This new metric gives a more comprehensive count of how many people are actually watching content on the platform,” Netflix said in a statement.
The move underscores Netflix’s ambition to build a major revenue stream from advertising, a space it entered in 2022 to complement its traditional subscription business. The company has also been expanding into video games and live-streaming, signaling a broader content and monetization strategy.
During the quarter, Netflix began testing dynamic ad insertion (DAI) technology with WWE Raw and SmackDown, allowing advertisers to serve personalized ads in real time during live broadcasts.
The company said DAI will now roll out in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, and the UK, including for the upcoming NFL Christmas Gameday, with plans to extend the feature across more live titles in 2026.
Co-Chief Executive Officer Greg Peters revealed that Netflix recorded its best ad sales quarter ever in the third quarter and remains on track to more than double ad revenue this year.
“Advertising is still small compared to our subscription revenue,” Peters said during the company’s last earnings call. “But we’ve now established the fundamentals of the business and see plenty of room for growth.”
Netflix’s in-house advertising platform, the Netflix Ads Suite, launched in the U.S. and Canada in May and is now live in 12 ad-supported markets globally.
Industry analysts say the introduction of MAVs and DAI reflects Netflix’s shift toward becoming a fully hybrid entertainment company — blending subscription streaming, advertising, and live events to compete for both viewers and marketing budgets worldwide.