Netflix hires a veteran ad tech leader to speed up its ads business

Netflix has hired Darshan Kantak as vice president of its ads platform, and his first job is to get the company's ad technology moving faster. He has worked at Google, Snap, Meta, Microsoft and Yahoo. The hire follows a rough patch: last month Netflix lowered its yearly ad revenue forecast by $300 million, to $2.7 billion.

Why Netflix needed a fix

Netflix said the lower forecast came from delays in rolling out ad products and partner integrations. Ad tech is the software that sells ads, places them in shows and tracks results. Partner integrations are the connections to outside companies that help advertisers buy and measure ads. When those connections run late, advertisers have less reason to spend.

Netflix still expects its ad business to grow by 80% this year, so the problem is speed, not demand.

Who Kantak is

Former colleagues describe him as detail-oriented and hands-on. Andrew Buckman, CEO of the digital ad firm Publisher Collective, recalled a Yahoo rollout about two decades ago. Buckman missed one setup step and joked that he had broken Finland. Kantak, who ran the global rollout, sat beside him for two hours to fix it.

Graham Mudd, who worked with Kantak at Meta and is now a senior vice president of product at Mozilla, said Kantak helped build products that moved Facebook toward ads that are judged by results. Mudd said that should help Netflix win a wider mix of advertisers.

What it could mean for you

Netflix said its ad priorities include new ad formats and more measurement and reporting tools. Measurement tools show advertisers whether an ad worked. Viewers on the cheaper ad plan may see different kinds of ads over time. Businesses that advertise on Netflix may get clearer reports.

Netflix also plans to bring its ad-supported plan to 15 new countries next year. Kantak said he wants ads to feel "relevant and welcome for members."

What is not known yet

• When the new ad formats and reporting tools will arrive.
• Which countries will get the ad plan.
• Whether Netflix will meet its revised $2.7 billion forecast.

Iván Markman, Yahoo's former chief business officer, said streaming video advertisers still have a lot of work to do on building the experience and the marketplace. He said of Kantak, "been there and done that." Whether that experience speeds Netflix up will show in the coming months.