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Testing of the new ad tech platform will begin in Canada later this year. Netflix plans a US launch by the end of next year鈥檚 second quarter and a global rollout by the end of 2025. But wait, there鈥檚 more: Netflix also announced its ad-supported tier has reached 40 million active monthly users, nearly doubling from the 23 million reported in January.

Heavy media consumption in Canada across digital and traditional channels has led to a range of effective ad formats for brands.

So in Canada, RBC, the Royal Bank of Canada was a big presenting sponsor, Toyota was another, so big national advertisers. There's a lucrative aspect to being a presenting sponsor, so they're in front of everybody for a couple of weeks.

Netflix has completely removed the basic membership plans for everyone, including existing members in Canada this month. According to The Verge, users in Canada and the UK began to receive prompts earlier this month stating that July the 13th was the last day that viewers on this plan could continue watching content. Paul, what will this mean for the Netflix subscription landscape in Canada?

This increase is proposed for multiple markets, primarily starting with the US and Canada. Zoom out: Netflix isn鈥檛 alone in this approach; over the past year, the cost of major ad-free streaming platforms has surged by approximately 25% in an effort to improve the bottom line. Disney recently raised prices for Disney+ and Hulu.

Our annual Trends to Watch report for Canada highlights expected developments in the country鈥檚 media and advertising market for 2025. Next year, we anticipate a shift in media buying will favor domestic publishers and retail media channels, while large platforms will contend with the new Digital Services Tax.

Amid growing concerns over trade tensions and economic volatility, many global brands are reallocating budgets geographically鈥攕hifting spend away from vulnerable regions and toward more stable markets like Canada, Europe, and Australia. Marketers are trading guesswork for guarantees鈥攑rioritizing retail media and CTV for their measurability, accountability, and performance clarity.

In Canada, it's nine in 10 people in the population,鈥� our analyst Bill Fisher said on an episode of 鈥淏ehind the Numbers.鈥� 鈥淭his is a really, really valuable piece of advertising real estate.鈥�.

There are about 1,755 FAST services available across the US, UK, Canada, and Germany as of early May, up 17% since June 2024 and 67% since June 2023, per Gracenote. Several FAST channels are experiencing notable growth. Viewership for The Roku Channel is up 67%, Tubi is up 21%, and Pluto TV is up 15%, according to Nielsen. Overall FAST viewers are growing steadily.