The Streaming Services on Political Advertisers’ Wishlists

CTV political ad spending surged during the 2024 election, and media buyers say that it’s not about to slow down anytime soon. 

Yet there are still a handful of streaming platforms – including giants like Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV – that refuse to run political ads, according to ad-buying firm Medium Buying. But that doesn’t mean that certain platforms aren’t on media buyers’ radars. 

There are active lobbying efforts to get certain streaming services to relax or reverse their political ad policies. Here’s a look at some of the top platforms on buyers’ wishlists:

Netflix

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the most widely used streaming platform in the world is at the top of media buyers’ wishlist when it comes to opening up for political business.

Still, Netflix remains a holdout on political advertising, much to the chagrin of buyers eager to reach the roughly 13 million users who subscribe to the streaming service’s ad-supported plan. The company’s refusal to allow political ads has drawn widespread condemnation within the politics industry, with the AAPC condemning the ban back in 2022.

For The Trade Desk’s Ari Wolfe, the ability to buy time on Netflix would be a crown jewel for political media buyers. 

“It’s definitely at the top of the list in terms of platforms I’d like to see open up,” he said. “I think it’s still a possibility.”

Prime Video

With 115 million users in the U.S., Prime Video represents a huge, untapped market for political media buyers. 

The Amazon offering famously bans political advertising in election years. But with programming like Thursday night football, it’s no wonder why media buyers would like to see that change. One ad buyer, who spoke to C&E on the condition of anonymity, said that getting Prime Video to reverse its policy on political ads is a top priority this year.

“I think, overall, we’re seeing a lot of tech companies ask themselves whether they’re prioritizing free speech,” the buyer said. “So with Amazon – yeah, I think it would be great. There’s so much potential there and there’s a real First Amendment argument to be made as to why they should be accepting political ad dollars.”

Disney+

When Disney launched the ad-supported version of its popular streaming service back in 2022, it famously declared that it wouldn’t accept any political or alcohol-related ad content. 

Still, with more than 100 million active monthly users, it’s one of the most far-reaching streaming platforms in the world, and political media buyers say they’re eager to get their foot in the door.

Of course, multiple media buyers said there’s reason to doubt Disney+ will begin allowing political ads any time soon. For one, Hulu, which is owned by the same parent company as Disney+, began allowing political ads back in 2022, and there’s broad agreement among media buyers that Disney Streaming doesn’t want to go much further.

The platform has also held tight to the “family-friendly” image associated with the Disney brand. Opening up the service to political advertising could compromise that reputation.