Netflix first launched the cheaper $6.99 per month subscription plan for its ad-supported streaming service in November 2022 in the U.S. and 11 other countries. Since then, the Standard with Ads plan, as it’s now called, has replaced its basic ad-free plan.

B Press release today, as part of the company’s Upfronts presentation to advertisers, Netflix announced that Standard with Ads programs now have 40 million subscribers worldwide. That’s well above the 5 million ad-based subscribers the company said it had at the same time in 2023, and it’s also well above the 23 million subscribers with the ad-based plan it announced in January 2024.

Netflix revealed today that 40 percent of all new subscriptions to the service are for the Standard with Ads plan in countries where this plan is available. Also, over 70 percent of all people who stream movies and TV shows with Netflix’s ad-based plan watch more than 10 hours of content per month.

In addition, Netflix is ​​expanding its advertising partners. Microsoft was Netflix’s exclusive advertising and sales partner when the ad-based program launched in 2022. Now, Netflix will work with other digital advertising companies, including rival Google. Netflix will also develop its own advertising technology platform for the future.

Netflix also announced a number of new shows, movies and innovations today. They included a sequel to the hit comedy film Gilmore is happy, with its original star Adam Sandler returning in the lead role. The latest science fiction series 3 body problem will also receive a few more episodes to end the show, but details such as the number of seasons and episodes have not been revealed. Finally, Netflix has signed a deal with the National Football League that will allow the service to stream two NFL games live on Christmas Day 2024.