Netflix has introduced a new advertising metric – monthly active viewers (MAV) – which it describes as a “more complete” measure of audience reach that accounts for co-viewing.

Now in its third year in the advertising business, Netflix defines MAV as members who have watched at least one minute of ads on the platform in a given month, multiplied by the estimated average number of people per household, based on its first-party research.

The company claims ads on Netflix now reach more than 190 million monthly active viewers globally.

Previously, Netflix reported on monthly active users (MAUs), which counted the number of profiles watching ads. However, Netflix executive Mitzi Reaugh said in a media briefing today (5 November) this metric was a “conservative representation” of its true reach.

“Netflix viewing is oftentimes a very communal experience. And MAU did not capture any co-viewing,” she said. “MAV is not just the number of accounts on the ads plan, because that’s not what matters most to advertisers. What matters most is the number of people watching.”

Netflix said it hopes MAV will become an industry-wide standard. Currently, there is no universal metric for measuring ad reach in streaming.

Netflix ‘on track’ to more than double ad revenue in 2025

The move comes as Netflix said it is “on track” to more than double ad revenue in 2025. Co-CEO Gregory Peters told investors on its third quarter results call earlier this month that brands are “excited” by the growing scale of Netflix’s ad business.

Peters explained that while the ads business still has a “small base” relative to the size of subscription revenue, Netflix now believes it has the “fundamentals” in place.

At the start of the year, Netflix launched its own ad stack across 12 countries, enabling advertisers to buy placements directly through its platform without third-party intermediaries.

On the press call today, Netflix’s president of advertising, Amy Reinhard, said the system has been a “huge success”, allowing the company to offer clients the “formats, measurement and reporting they’ve been looking for”.

From this month, Netflix is expanding its demographic targeting options to include education, marital status and household income, allowing advertisers to reach audiences with greater precision.

The company is also testing interactive video ads with call-to-action prompts tailored to viewing behaviour, which Reinhard said delivers an “unmatched personalised experience for members”.