Phased roadmap for Netflix's ad-supported plan and advertising business

Netflix offers an ad-supported plan alongside its ad-free plans. You are the PM who owns Netflix's advertising product. Lay out a product roadmap for it. ```hint Three parties, one flywheel Consider how viewers on the ad plan, advertisers and Netflix's subscription business each depend on the others, and which piece of work unblocks the most of the rest. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should the roadmap build on the ad plan as it works today, or may it revisit basic choices such as how many ads run per hour and how the plan is priced? - What horizon should it cover: the next year, or two to three years? - Is the primary objective ad revenue, growth of the ad-supported member base, or both, and how much change to the viewing experience is acceptable? - Is the ad technology itself (ad serving, measurement, buying tools) in scope, or only what viewers and advertisers see? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A goal for the ads business tied to Netflix's subscription strategy, with a north-star metric and guardrails - The needs and pain points of viewers on the ad plan, of advertisers, and of Netflix itself - Roadmap themes sequenced by dependency and impact, with explicit reasoning for what comes first and what is left out - Phased milestones, each with the result it must achieve before the next phase starts - Risks such as cannibalizing ad-free plans, privacy rules, and ad load hurting retention ### Follow-up Questions - Advertisers want richer targeting data while viewers and regulators push for more privacy. How does your roadmap handle that tension? - Six months in, ad-plan members are watching less than ad-free members. Which roadmap items do you revisit first? - Leadership asks you to double the number of ads per hour to hit a revenue target. How do you respond?