Netflix’s ad-supported plan reached 23 million global monthly active users (MAUs) in January 2024, the company said. That figure counted people using the ad tier during the month—not 23 million paid subscriptions or households. Netflix later reported that the audience had grown to 40 million MAUs by May 2024.
What Netflix meant by 23 million users
On its January 23, 2024, Q4 earnings call, Netflix management said: “We’re now at 23 million MAUs, and we see that continuing to grow in the quarters ahead.” Netflix’s Q4 2023 earnings call
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Netflix eGift Card | $15.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Netflix eGift Card | $100.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Netflix Physical Gift Card | $50.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Netflix Physical Gift Card - $60 | $60.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Netflix Physical Gift Card - $30 | $30.00 | Buy on Amazon |
MAU means monthly active user: someone who used Netflix’s ad-supported plan during the month. It is an audience measure, not a count of paid subscriptions or households. The January announcement did not give a full geographic breakdown or establish how many users were new customers versus people who switched from an ad-free plan. It therefore should not be read as 23 million unique paying households.
How quickly the ad audience grew
Netflix launched its ad-supported plan in November 2022. The company’s reported milestones show rapid growth, though each figure is a snapshot at a different date.
#1 Best Overall
- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance
- Redemption: Online
| Reported date | Global ad-tier MAUs | What Netflix said |
|---|---|---|
| November 1, 2023 | 15 million | Reached one year after launch. Netflix announcement |
| January 2024 | 23 million | Reported on the Q4 2023 earnings call. Netflix earnings call |
| May 15, 2024 | 40 million | Netflix said the figure was up from 5 million a year earlier. Netflix Upfront announcement |
These are historical figures, not a current audience count. Netflix’s May 2024 update also said that more than 40% of signups in countries where its ad plan was available came through that plan. That describes signups in those markets, not the share of Netflix’s entire global subscriber base.
What the milestone meant for advertisers
A 23-million-person monthly audience gave advertisers a substantial potential reach on a plan launched just over a year earlier. In its May 2024 Upfront announcement, Netflix listed measurement and verification partners including Affinity Solutions, DoubleVerify, EDO, Integral Ad Science, iSpotTV, Kantar, Lucid, NCSolutions, Nielsen and TVision. The list indicates that Netflix was building out measurement and verification for its ad offering; it does not establish that every partner was available in every market or that the partners had an affiliate relationship.
Rank #2
- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Redemption: Online
- No Returns and Refunds on Gift Cards
How to interpret Netflix’s audience figures
MAUs are not directly comparable with another streaming service’s subscriber, household or viewer totals. A fair comparison needs to match the metric and reporting date, account for the countries where the ad plan was offered, and consider whether users who switched from an ad-free plan are included. The January 2024 figure alone does not answer those questions for a service-to-service comparison.
Reuters, citing Variety’s account of Netflix advertising president Amy Reinhard’s CES comments, reported that 85% of customers on Netflix’s ad-supported plans streamed for more than two hours per day. This is a reported viewing-duration claim, not a breakdown of the 23 million MAUs by household or subscriber status. Reuters report
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteQuick Recap
Best Value
- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
Rank #4
- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
Rank #3
- Unlimited movies, TV shows, and more. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.
- Give the gift of entertainment so your friends and family can stream unlimited films and Netflix original series. Whether your loved one already has a Netflix account or they will be creating a new account, they can use a Netflix gift card toward their membership.
- No credit card is required to redeem a gift code.
- Codes are applied to your account as a gift balance. Gift codes can be added to any plan, regardless of the amount.
- Redemption: Online
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
