Netflix opened its upfront pitch to advertisers in New York by bringing Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein closer to the center of the stage. The pair shared a clip from their upcoming romcom, “Office Romance,” as the company leaned on the theme “Get Closer” at Sunset Pier 94 Studios.
Goldstein, who stars opposite Lopez in the film, told the crowd that Netflix had brought him closer to his dream of making “an old school rom-com” with “the queen of romantic comedies.” He said he could hardly believe it had happened, then added, “It’s actually fucking mental.” Lopez said it was her pleasure to be there and that it felt great to return to a rom-com after too long away, calling the film the one that might be her favorite yet.
The moment gave Netflix a star-driven opening for a pitch aimed squarely at advertisers. The company’s advertising president, Amy Reinhard, said Netflix now has more than 250 million monthly active viewers worldwide, with over 60% of sign-ups choosing the ads plan. She said more than 80% of ads members sign in every single week, and that 44% of people who see an ad on Netflix never see it on broadcast TV or on other streamers.
Netflix with Ads also announced that commercials will be added to 15 more markets, building on the 10 markets where the service already runs ads. The expansion matters because it shows the company is still pushing hard on the business side even as it uses a Hollywood pairing to sell the creative side of the platform. Netflix has spent years trying to convince advertisers that streaming can deliver both scale and attention, and Monday’s presentation was built to make that case as plainly as possible.
That pitch has become more important as the company tries to deepen its ad business while keeping the audience that made it dominant in the first place. Bela Bajaria has said Netflix went live in 190 countries in a single day, a reminder of the global reach that now sits behind the ads strategy. Reinhard and Bajaria both joined Netflix in 2016, and the company is now asking advertisers to see that scale not just as reach, but as a place where viewers are still watching closely.
The contrast at the center of the event was hard to miss: a romantic comedy clip on one hand, and a hard sales message on the other. Netflix wanted both at once. The question now is whether the company can keep turning star power into advertiser confidence as it keeps widening the ads footprint.
