Netflix has announced new advertising measurement and audience targeting capabilities for its in-house advertising platform, Netflix Ads Suite, as the streaming company lowers its 2026 advertising revenue forecast amid slower-than-expected product rollouts.
The updates include a new Netflix Pixel, enhancements to its Conversion API (CAPI), expanded programmatic targeting through The Trade Desk and additional campaign measurement tools.
The announcement coincided with Netflix’s third-quarter earnings, which showed a 12% year-over-year increase in revenue to $12.9 billion. However, the company reduced its annual advertising revenue target from $3 billion to approximately $2.7 billion, citing delays in launching certain advertising products and partner integrations.
Netflix expects its advertising business to grow by more than 80% in 2026, below its previous objective of doubling annual ad revenue.
One of the central updates is the introduction of Netflix Pixel, a measurement tool designed to help advertisers connect streaming ad exposure with customer actions. The pixel works alongside Netflix’s enhanced Conversion API, allowing advertisers to share more than 20 lower-funnel conversion events with the platform. These events provide information about customer actions beyond initial ad exposure, supporting campaign measurement and audience targeting based on conversion data. Through the combined capabilities, advertisers will be able to test Netflix’s first-party measurement solutions, including conversion lift studies, attribution analysis and A/B testing.
The tools also allow advertisers to create and refine audience segments using their own conversion data. For performance-focused marketers, the updates introduce additional ways to evaluate whether Netflix advertising contributes to measurable business outcomes rather than relying exclusively on reach and brand awareness metrics.
Netflix has not disclosed adoption figures for the new pixel or provided a timeline for its availability to all advertisers.
Netflix is also expanding its programmatic advertising capabilities through an integration with The Trade Desk. Beginning in November 2026, advertisers using The Trade Desk will be able to activate first-party audience data and third-party audience segments when buying Netflix advertising inventory.
The integration builds on existing programmatic targeting arrangements with Yahoo DSP and Amazon’s advertising technology.
Through The Trade Desk’s Kokai platform, advertisers will be able to access audience segments from external data providers and use their own customer information to support targeting strategies.
The Trade Desk said its data marketplace includes more than four million audience segments from over 300 providers, covering categories such as consumer behavior, demographics, commerce and geographic characteristics.
Netflix is also introducing additional measurement functionality directly within demand-side platforms. Yahoo DSP advertisers can now measure single-publisher attribution for Netflix campaigns, while similar capabilities are planned for The Trade Desk.
Upcoming measurement tools for The Trade Desk will cover reach, frequency and attribution, allowing advertisers to evaluate Netflix campaign performance within their existing programmatic buying systems.
Netflix also shared results from advertiser measurement studies intended to demonstrate the effectiveness of its advertising inventory.
According to the company, a campaign conducted with an unnamed delivery app brand generated a 2.7% incremental lift in signups and a 2.9% lift in new trials, based on Netflix’s first-party Conversion Lift measurement.
The company said the methodology was designed to distinguish conversions attributable to advertising from those that would have occurred without the campaign.
Netflix also cited Kantar cross-publisher brand lift studies that showed its advertising performing above advertisers’ overall media mix across metrics including brand awareness, brand favorability and consideration intent.
These findings are based on company-reported studies, and Netflix did not disclose detailed sample sizes or methodologies in its announcement.
Despite the expansion of its advertising technology, Netflix’s latest earnings highlighted challenges in meeting its advertising revenue expectations. The company lowered its 2026 advertising revenue forecast to $2.7 billion, compared with its previous target of $3 billion.
During the earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters attributed the revision to delays involving advertising product development and integrations with external partners. He indicated that the company expects the investments to support its advertising business over the longer term, despite their near-term impact on revenue expectations.
Netflix also acknowledged slower growth in audience engagement. Viewing hours increased approximately 2% during the first half of 2026, according to figures discussed by company executives.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and other executives said the company was seeking to increase viewing activity through programming investments, content licensing and live events.
The streaming service is expanding its live sports offerings, including an NFL Thanksgiving Eve game in November and coverage of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Audience engagement remains an important factor in Netflix’s advertising business because viewing activity affects the amount of advertising inventory available for sale.
Alongside its measurement and targeting updates, Netflix announced plans to expand its ad-supported subscription offering into 15 additional countries in 2027. The company confirmed that Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland are among the markets scheduled for expansion in March 2027.
The geographic rollout will extend Netflix’s advertising inventory into additional markets as the company continues developing its programmatic buying and measurement infrastructure.
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