Earned & PaidNetflix
Netflix spent $2.00B on advertising and marketing in fiscal 2025, up 12.5% on the year before and +6% since 2019. That's 4.4% of revenue, less than in 2019: the business outgrew its marketing.
Marketing spend by year
Bars: advertising and marketing expense, $B (10-K). Line: spend as a share of revenue.
What the 10-K says about marketing
- investing in brand “titors; membership growth, including impact of content and pricing changes on membership growth; partnerships; advertising; multi-household usage; member viewing patterns; dividends; future contractual obligations, including unknown content obligations and timing of payments;…” 10-K, Jan 23, 2026
Say vs do
We found no statement about the size of Netflix's marketing budget on its earnings calls or in its 10-Ks, so here is its record against its peers.
What they said
No statement about the size of its marketing budget.
What they did
| Year | Marketing spend | Change | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.00B | +12.5% | 4.4% |
| FY2024 | $1.78B | +2.7% | 4.6% |
| FY2023 | $1.73B | +9.2% | 5.1% |
| FY2022 | $1.59B | -5.0% | 5.0% |
| FY2021 | $1.67B | +15.3% | 5.6% |
| FY2020 | $1.45B | -23.0% | 5.8% |
Against its peers. Compared with the 3 other Media advertisers we track (Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Fox): since 2019 its marketing spend went +6% (peer median +131%); its share of revenue moved -4.9 pts (median +1.8); last year +12.5% (median +6.6%).
In interviews, its leaders made 104 statements about marketing: 11 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting.
How we check: a statement gets a verdict only when it's clearly about the size of the whole company's marketing budget over a full fiscal year; we compare it with the advertising and marketing expense in that year's 10-K. Statements about one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix between brand and performance can't be checked against annual filings.
What they say about media
The marketing channels it talks about using for itself on earnings calls and in its 10-Ks and 10-Qs, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Creative campaigns “Our marketing and partnership teams worked to bring this to Japanese consumers in a friendly way.” Gregory Peters on the earnings call · Apr 16, 2026 · source
- Sponsorships & athletes “Can you share updated thoughts on how you are approaching sports rights for Netflix, Inc. and where you draw the line on something that can move the needle?” Spencer Wang on the earnings call · Jul 17, 2025 · source
- Programmatic & display “We have seen an increased programmatic buying.” Greg Peters on the earnings call · Jul 17, 2025 · source
- Organic social & content “Was there an unusually high level of marketing spin for this film, or did the buzz build organically on Netflix?” Spencer Wang on the earnings call · Jan 21, 2025 · source
- Experiential & events “When we signaled to the world when we went live with the "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage" special last -- a year ago, is that -- this company, Netflix, who you love for on-demand viewing of your favorite TV shows and movies, is also, I say also going to surprise you with amazing…” Theodore A. Sarandos on the earnings call · Jul 18, 2024 · source
What they see in the market
What its leaders and filings say about the ad market: its own ad business, or the channels advertisers use, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Connected TV & streaming · Sponsorships & athletes · Measurement “I will take the next question from Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson: With the NFL in the market for new packages, do you judge ROI on live event content spending the same way as scripted content, or does adding NFL games give you the ability to drive higher CPMs and ad growth…” Spencer Wong on the earnings call · Apr 16, 2026 · source
- Programmatic & display “What proportion of advertisers are being serviced directly by the Netflix, Inc. sales team, and what proportion are buying on Netflix, Inc. through third-party DSP partners?” Spencer Wong on the earnings call · Apr 16, 2026 · source
- Creative campaigns “Ad Suite—making it easier to design new creative formats, custom ads, improve contextual relevance, and roll them out more quickly and effectively, allowing partners to leverage them more easily.” Gregory Peters on the earnings call · Apr 16, 2026 · source
- CRM, loyalty & first-party data “In 2026, we are making more Netflix, Inc. first-party data accessible, of course, in a privacy-safe, data-secure way.” Gregory Peters on the earnings call · Jan 20, 2026 · source
- Linear TV “But -- and as you say, there's a lot of branded TV ad dollars that are -- that we set our sights on over time because we think we're a great ecosystem and environment to collect that demand, but we have to prove it out over time.” Spence Neumann on the earnings call · Jul 19, 2023 · source
In the news
- Netflix and AudienceProject partner on ad insights Research Live · Sep 29, 2026 · platforms & adtech
- Netflix to start ads subscription tier in Europe in March 2027 Telecompaper · paywall · Sep 28, 2026 · platforms & adtech
- Disney+, Netflix to introduce subscriptions with ads in Poland Telecompaper · paywall · Sep 28, 2026 · platforms & adtech
- Netflix’s India’s Got Latent play is about Gen Z reach, not just subscriptions Storyboard18 · Sep 28, 2026 · campaign
- Netflix awards PR brief for new Sidemen reality series PRWeek · paywall · Sep 28, 2026 · agency move
- Netflix's GTA VI Premiere and Gaming's Marketing Shift criticalhit.net · Sep 27, 2026 · campaign
Agency moves
- CHI wins Netflix brief Sep 27, 2026