• by Wayne Friedman , Yesterday

Advertising revenue at Netflix has risen rapidly -- and is now expected to double to $3 billion globally this year from $1.5 billion in 2025, and to comprise 10% of all connected TV advertising (CTV) spend by 2030, according to projections from WARC Media.

The advertising research company estimates that Netflix’s current 3.5% share of global CTV will rise to 9.2% by 2027, to hit $8 billion in ad revenue by 2030.

WARC says the company is targeting competitor share rather than relying on market expansion.

“It increasingly attracts ad dollars and share of market boosted by live sports, cultural events, Gen Z’s love for brand integrations, and is perceived to be trustworthy by both brands and viewers alike,” says Celeste Huang, media insights analyst at WARC Media.

In the second quarter, the top U.S. categories for ad spend on Netflix were shopping ($82 million), consumer-packaged-goods ($78 million), financial services ($66 million), travel and tourism ($54 million), and telecom ($44 million ), according to estimates from Sensor Tower.

WARC also notes that Netflix growth coming from Gen Zers works with its efforts to add more video podcast content, which it views as the “modern talk show” as well as cloud-based gaming across both mobile and TV.

A potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would expand its content further, WARC says.

According to WARC research, brands placing ads on Netflix view it as a high-quality viewing environment -- ranking it fourth as a “trustworthy” global platform behind YouTube, Instagram and Google.

In addition to video podcasts -- which compete with similar content on YouTube -- Netflix looks beyond film and TV series to expand into music partnerships, sports live-streaming, and gaming integrations.