Netflix Pushes Ad Tech During Upfront Presentation

Netflix quickly took over the streaming world. After a slow start, Netflix says it is capturing the TV ad business as well.

“If the last couple of years were about proving we’re a durable player, this year is about establishing ourselves as a more formidable one,” said Amy Reinhard, president of advertising at Netflix, during the company’s upfront presentation on Wednesday.

“We’ve got cutting edge tech, we’ve got great entertainment across shows, movies, podcasts and live events. And we’ve got the most engaged and attentive audience,” Reinhard said. “We’ve proven we’re effective. We’re expanding ads to more places. And we’re ready to compete with anyone.”

On its most recent earnings call, Netflix said it expects ad revenues to double in 2026 to $3 billion. Some of that growth stems from the company’s decision to build its ad tech stack, which enables it to take advantage of what it knows about its subscribers.

Reinhard said Netflix was testing personalized ad loads and frequency caps that dynamically adjust the ads subscribers see based on their viewing behaviors.

She also pointed to instances where brands integrated with Netflix shows, such as the KPop Demon Hunter meals sold by McDonald’s and Jack from State Farm's appearance in Running Point.

“According to custom research, brand partnerships on Netflix average almost twice the TV norm on long-term brand building and 23% above purchase intent benchmarks,” Reinhard said.

Advertisers can also advertise in new Netflix programming formats including a vertical video feed and video podcasts. It is also selling ads on Tudum, its fan site, which gets 24 million views per month.

Netflix has long used AI to track what its subscribers watch. Now it’s using AI to provide tools designed to make advertising on Netflix easier and more convenient, with agents that test campaigns, optimize and purchase ads.

Later in the presentation, after the announcements that Netflix will be streaming the L.A. Rams and Green Bay Packers in the NFL game on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the Women’s Soccer World Cup and the Westminster Dog Show, VP for ad sales Nicolle Pangis talked about more about added features of the Netflix Ad Suite.

“It’s the easiest and fastest way to deliver better capabilities, better measurement and more creative formats, and now it’s getting even more powerful,” Pangis said.

Netflix has built an Audience API that enables an ad buyer to describe what audiences they seek and have Netflix spit out a plan to reach them. There is also an AI media planning tool that takes the campaign brief, looks at all the data available and develops a strategy to drive results.

Programmatic buying of pause aids and live dynamic ad insertion events are being expanded.

Speaking of pause ads, Pangis said that Netflix co-created custom pause ads and integrations for Airbnb during the second season of Nobody Wants This. The campaign boosted awareness and purchase intent, delivering a return on ad spending more than double the industry benchmark, she said.

“More importantly, we helped them drive real bookings,” she added.

“It's no surprise that ads on Netflix drive greater attention, more brand awareness, higher engagement and more search and web visits, but they also drive higher sales, lift purchase intent, return on ad spend compared to our competitors,” Pangis said.

“We analyze auction dynamics, inventory performance, creative engagement in real time, so our ads platform can get smarter and more effective from one campaign to the next. “

When Netflix started its ad business, it launched in 12 countries. In 2027, 15 new countries will be added, including Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand, the company announced.

A Ted Talk at WBD

With an acquisition by Paramount Skydance barreling down the tracks toward them, Warner Bros. Discovery advertising presidents Ryan Gould and Bobby Voltaggio had to acknowledge the obvious.

“Before we go on, we do want to address the Ellison, I mean, the elephant in the room,” they said.

“Everyone here knows that there's change ahead and that there's change in our company, but there's change across the entire media industry,” they said, adding that “our best-in-class organization, the team and people you know and trust so well are here to help guide you through this transition.”

The company saluted Ted Turner, who started many of WBD’s cable networks, including CNN. Turner died earlier this month and Anderson Cooper recalled one of Turner’s well-known sayings: “Early to bed, early to rise; work like hell and advertise.”

So even if this was to be WBD’s last upfront, there were ads to sell, and the company rolled out new ways to make them effective.

New capabilities included Scene-Level Moments, Shoppable Pause Ads, Dynamic Creative and Agentic Experiences. The company also announced an Always-On Measurement & Attribution Dashboard, which gives buyers a real-time view of campaign performance.

“This is a clear reflection of our commitment to smarter planning, to greater outcomes and measurable impacts,” Gould said. “We are offering you a full range of ways to buy WBD now, spanning every screen, every signal and every buy type, whatever your strategy or KPI, we will optimize towards it.’’’

WBD also introduced Unbreakable, a cross-platform capability that connects brands with audiences across linear, digital and social platforms.

“Unbreakable integrates our partners into the complete fan experience, including the millions of social conversations surrounding the biggest moments on TNT sports, Bleacher Report and House of Highlights,” Gould said. Soon Unbreakable will expand to meet fans and every passion point within the WBD library, he added.

“Every new product and enhancement we announced today supports one objective – precision inside premium content at the center of culture,” Gould said.

Greg Mandel Named CEO of XR Pay

XR said it named Greg Mandel as CEO of XR Pay, the company’s commercial and entertainment production payroll business.

Frank DeVito was named president and COO of XR Pay.

Mandel joins XR from Mikros Animation, where he was executive VP and COO. He’s also spent 20 years at Technicolor. Mandel will report to XR CEO John Batter.

DeVito joins XR from Cast & Crew, where he was general manager of advertising. He will report to Mandel.

“XR has built the market-leading payments platform for commercial production, trusted by the world’s biggest brands, agencies, and talent to manage advertising payroll at scale,” said John Batter, CEO of XR. “With Greg and Frank joining the team, we have an incredible opportunity to build on this strong foundation and expand how we support the entire production ecosystem, from talent in front of the camera to the crews behind it. Their experience will help us continue to scale XR Pay and shape the future of production payroll.”