At the Center of Attention: Where Netflix Ads Is Headed in Its Fourth Year in Japan

On September 29, we welcomed advertisers, agencies and partners to BEHIND THE STREAMS 2026, our annual event. In its third year, the event drew a full room once again, and I could feel just how much expectations for Netflix Ads have grown. I want to share what we presented that day, and the kind of advertising we're working toward.

Netflix Ads is now in its fourth year in Japan, and the business is growing faster than ever. One catalyst was our exclusive live broadcast of the 2026 World Baseball Classic™ in March, which introduced Netflix to many more brands as a new place to advertise. Between January and September 2026, the number of campaigns we ran with advertisers grew roughly 12x year over year. We see this as the result of companies across every industry placing their trust in us and taking on new challenges alongside us.

Capturing attention has never been harder

With so much entertainment competing for people's time, capturing hearts and holding attention is no easy task. In our survey of streaming viewers aged 18 to 42 in Japan, around 80% said they pay attention to only a limited amount of content, and roughly 80% also said only content that moves them emotionally is worth their attention. And when they want an immersive experience that stirs their emotions, 85% said they choose Netflix.¹

Knowing that people think of Netflix, and choose us, when they want to lose themselves in a story means more to us than anything. It also tells us where our responsibility lies: to create an ad experience that lets them stay immersed, even during the ad.

Beyond quantity: the quality of reach

In an era when volume alone no longer gets an ad noticed, efficiency isn't enough. What we pursue is the quality of reach: not simply serving ads efficiently, but making sure they reach the hearts of the people watching.

That's why we are deliberate about how ads appear. Mid-roll ads are placed at natural breaks in the story. We don't run back-to-back ads, and the same creative is shown no more than once per hour.

The results speak for themselves. A meta-analysis of campaigns from the first half of 2026 found that Netflix delivered 4x the lift in brand awareness, 15x in brand favorability, and 20x in purchase intent, compared with the average of the terrestrial TV and other streaming services included in the study.²

The same thinking applies to live. During the 2026 World Baseball Classic™, we chose not to run ads during the game's most intense moments. We wanted viewers to experience those breathtaking moments without interruption. The result: every advertiser saw brand lift, regardless of how well known their brand already was, with average increases of 22.8 points in favorability and 22.7 points in purchase intent.³

Our work in live will continue. WWE has been streaming live every week in Japan since October 1, and starting in November, we will offer live ad packages for it. It's a stage where the world's top wrestlers go head to head, with many Japanese stars among them, and it gives brands a way to be part of that live energy every week.

Making results visible, all the way through

Another big step forward this year is that advertisers can now measure the impact of their Netflix ads across the full funnel, from brand awareness to action. That progress is made possible by our partners.

With Google's Display & Video 360, the system automatically detects and reduces duplicate ad exposure among people who see ads on both YouTube and Netflix. The budget this frees up can then go toward new audiences the campaign hasn't reached yet. In campaigns that ran across YouTube and Netflix through Display & Video 360, unique reach grew about 1.7 times compared with buying each separately.⁴

We are also implementing a data clean room with AJA that matches data in encrypted form. With it, advertisers can now measure and verify ad effectiveness all the way through the action stage, including conversions, which used to be hard to capture, with hard numbers.

New ad experiences

Since September 29, we have offered Interactive Video Ads, which show a CTA button and product images alongside a video ad. In the first half of 2027, we plan to bring the same format to Pause Ads.

Within 2027, we also plan to introduce a format that places an ad across the full profile selection screen, and another that shows an ad in the first view after login.

Delivering a brand's message alongside the best stories

At the heart of Netflix Ads are stories that go beyond imagination, and the passionate fandoms they inspire. When brands connect with the worlds of these stories, and with the conversations and culture they spark, the results show up across the full funnel.

Our goal is to carry the message a brand most wants to share to the hearts of the people it most wants to reach, alongside the best stories. Placing advertising at the center of attention is a challenge we will keep taking on together with our advertisers. We can't wait to show you what comes next for Netflix Ads.

¹ Netflix, Still Watching 2026 . Results from 1,125 respondents in Japan, part of a survey of 13,500 streaming viewers aged 18-42 (watching at least once a week) across Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and South America, conducted in May 2026. ² Meta-analysis of a cross-media brand lift study (conducted by a commissioned research firm), based on survey results linked to Netflix ad exposure logs. Covers eight brand lift studies conducted January-June 2026. ³ Macromill, Inc., meta-analysis (Netflix x WBC OTS brand lift study). ⁴ Google data. Covers campaigns with ad budgets of JPY 50-100 million.