• by Wayne Friedman , June 20, 2024

Netflix will continue to see strong advertising growth for its ad-supported option -- estimated to reach $950 million this year, according to eMarketer estimates.

One major key in Netflix's favor is ad revenue per viewer coming from its advertising-supported streaming option, according to the research company.

For this year, Netflix is projected to average $70.44 in ad revenue per viewer for those watching the streamer at least once a month on any device -- well above all competitors. According to industry estimates, it has more than 20 million U.S. ad-supported users, and 40 million globally -- versus Hulu at $45.87; Disney+ ($37.87); Max ($26.49); Peacock ($21.93); and Paramount+ ($8.40).

Netflix's substantial lead against all its competitors will continue in the near term -- although it will narrow somewhat -- and is expected to reach $59.67 in 2026. That amount is still higher than the total for Hulu ($42.91) and Disney ($35.83) -- which would both also sink from current levels.

Streamers seeing slow gains include Max ($28.69); Peacock ($26.78) and Paramount+ ($10.10). Max -- which is lagging in this group -- will see some ad-supported gains in the coming years, and is estimated to climb to $430 million in ad revenue this year to $500 million (2025) and $550 million (2026).

Max has been seeing some major program changes as owner Warner Bros. Discovery has removed entertainment shows from the platform to license them to other platforms/networks -- which analysts say has hurt its overall popularity.

However, at the same time, Max continues to add higher premium live sports advertising inventory to its platform. Max has been heavily marketing itself of late with its promotion of live sports.

eMarketer projects that all U.S. connected TV advertising will hit $28.75 billion this year, $32.57 billion in 2025, and $44.32 billion by 2028.