Netflix media agency review underway for Southeast Asia

Netflix has called for a media agency review in Southeast Asia (SEA), Campaign has learned.

The incumbent media agency is UM, whose parent company Interpublic Group defeated Wavemaker in the UK in 2023 to win the account—now handled handled by IPG’s Mediahub.

Campaign understands that Netflix has sent the request for proposal to media agencies, and the deadline is January 29, 2024.

According to sources familiar with the process, Wavemaker still works with Netflix in SEA in specific capacities, together with UM. Another IPG agency, RGA, is also Netflix's creative agency of record for the region, in accordance with Campaign's Advertising Intelligence data.

UM declined to comment when reached by Campaign, and Wavemaker did not respond to queries. It is unclear if both agencies will defend the account.

Netflix recently surpassed 23 million global monthly users for its ad-supported tier—up from 15 million users two months ago. However, ad revenue remains a small part of Netflix’s business, with the majority still attributed to subscriptions. 

The streaming platform continues to see strong subscriber growth in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, where it's added 5 million members, followed by 2.9 million in APAC, 2.8 million in the US and Canada and 2.4 million in Latin America in 2023. 

Earlier this week, Netflix announced a 10-year deal with the WWE to air the weekly wrestling show Raw starting January 2025. As part of the USD$5 billion agreement, Netflix will also own the rights to stream WWE’s other shows and specials outside the US.