Netflix opens its ad inventory to The Trade Desk, which needs growth above 3% as agencies press fees
The streamer needs advertiser demand for its inventory; the DSP needs a growth story after two years of deceleration. The next quarterly report is where both get tested.
Richard Tang · 2 min read
Netflix−4.45% — Netflix, down 4.45 percent today opened its premium streaming inventory to The Trade Desk−0.01% — The Trade Desk, down 0.01 percent today on the same morning it conceded its ad business is growing slower than it hoped. The streamer unveiled the Netflix Pixel, an add-on to the conversion API inside its in-house Ads Suite that lets advertisers measure and target on more than 20 lower-funnel conversion events, and said The Trade Desk joins Amazon+0.63% — Amazon, up 0.63 percent today and Yahoo as DSPs whose audience targeting can reach Netflix inventory starting next month 12.
For The Trade Desk's shareholders, this is the release they were waiting for, and the next quarterly print is where it must show up as revenue.
Deceleration is why the timing matters
The Trade Desk's revenue growth has fallen from 27% year over year in Q3 2024 to 3% in Q2 2026, and its operating income fell year over year last quarter 4. That deceleration is the backdrop: this comes days after shareholders voted on the option repricing the company proposed, a ballot our earlier report covered and one the next print helps answer 5.
What is new is access: the largest streaming TV catalog, previously reachable only through Netflix's own suite, now feeds the open programmatic ecosystem where The Trade Desk competes.
The Trade Desk's revenue growth has fallen from 27% to 3% in two years
Data
| Revenue growth, year over year (%) | |
|---|---|
| Q3 '24 | 27.3% |
| Q4 '24 | 22.3% |
| Q1 '25 | 25.4% |
| Q2 '25 | 18.7% |
| Q3 '25 | 17.7% |
| Q4 '25 | 14.3% |
| Q1 '26 | 11.8% |
| Q2 '26 | 3% |
Netflix needs demand as much as the DSP needs growth
Netflix's Q3 revenue was $12.9 billion, up 12%, but execs said ad revenue growth missed expectations against a January pledge to double ad revenue again this year 12. Netflix had the inventory but not enough advertiser demand for it, so it routed its supply to the buyers it once bypassed, and advertisers pay for the Pixel measurement either way.
The contested ground is margin
Independent agencies are pressing The Trade Desk on fees at the same time: one 15-person New York agency that cleared the $100,000 monthly minimum still pays 17% to the DSP plus 12% to a reseller, and walked away when The Trade Desk refused to budge 3. Amazon competes for the same budgets inside Netflix's suite.
The Trade Desk is winning premium supply at the exact moment its customers have leverage over its fees. That is why the test is specific: the next report must show Netflix access converting into revenue growth re-accelerating above Q2's 3%, not just reach.
The daily newsletter
