Netflix to get Nielsen ratings as streaming giant rolls out ad-supported plan

Nielsen ratings are coming to Netflix Inc.

Netflix announced Thursday that will start using Nielsen’s digital audience measurement in the U.S. to give advertisers an understanding of its reach. It said the Nielsen ratings will start sometime in 2023, marking the first time the streaming giant will have the ratings available for its content.

The move comes as Netflix prepares to roll out a plan with ads that costs $6.99 a month in countries including the U.S. on Nov. 3. The streamer is looking for other ways to grow its revenue after losing subscribers in recent quarters.

Jon Watts, managing director of the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, said the deal indicates that Netflix is serious about its new ad-funded tier, and is embracing the wider media and advertising ecosystem.

“It also raises interesting questions about the future evolution of the market, with TV and streaming converging, and learning to co-exist,” Watts said.

Nielsen is the go-to ratings agency for broadcast and cable-TV shows, allowing the advertising industry to have an idea of the size of the audiences reached by various programming. Live sports, especially events such as the NFL’s Super Bowl, and news programming, are often among the top-rated moments on television.

Amazon Prime recently partnered with Nielsen to track its audience for “Thursday Night Football,” which began airing on the service in September. Amazon is the first streaming service to have the exclusive rights to a package of NFL games, which will last through 2033.

On Netflix’s ad-supported plan, there will be an average of four to five minutes of commercials per hour, and ads will span 15 seconds to 30 seconds when the new option launches. A limited number of TV shows and movies won’t be available on that plan due to licensing restrictions, the company said.