Netflix Made One Surprising Partnership That Could Change How Americans Drink Beer

The streaming wars just took an unexpected turn.

Netflix found a new way to make money that nobody saw coming.

And Netflix made one surprising partnership that could change how Americans drink beer.

Netflix teams up with the world’s biggest beer company

Netflix announced a landmark partnership with AB InBev, the Belgian company behind Corona, Stella Artois, and Budweiser that controls roughly 25% of the global beer market.

The streaming giant isn’t just looking for advertising revenue here.

They’re betting on something much bigger – that Americans are fundamentally changing when and how they drink alcohol.

"Streaming is becoming a big social occasion," AB InBev Chief Marketing Officer Marcel Marcondes told Fox News Digital. "People get together to watch the shows, to watch this series, and this is a big beer occasion."

The partnership will include Netflix subscription promotions, themed packaging for different shows, and product placement deals where AB InBev brands appear directly in Netflix content.

Season two of "The Gentlemen" will feature actors drinking Stella Artois throughout the series.

But this goes deeper than traditional product placement.

The living room becomes the new sports bar

Marcondes explained how viewing habits have evolved into something that resembles the old neighborhood bar experience.

"We see people scheduling to get together to watch the next episode of their favorite shows or even with people in different homes in different households to say, let’s watch together though we’re apart that episode in three, two, one now so that they can have that collective experience," he said.

Netflix has more than 300 million paid subscribers worldwide.

That’s a massive audience that’s already gathering in living rooms across America every night.

The beer company sees an opportunity that traditional advertising can’t match.

"This partnership is powerful because our brands are naturally part of those social moments," Marcondes noted. "Be it in the social occasions, beer occasions being portrayed in the shows, be it in the music and sports events that they will stream live where our brands are naturally part of."

Netflix is expanding beyond just movies and TV shows into live sports and music events, creating even more opportunities for beer marketing.

Smart money recognizes a cultural shift

This partnership signals that both companies understand something traditional advertisers are missing.

The old model of beer commercials during football games isn’t reaching younger consumers who spend more time streaming than watching broadcast television.

"This is just part of culture now," Marcondes explained about the shift toward home viewing as a social experience.

Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee emphasized the cultural impact in a statement: "The popularity of our titles allows us to pierce the cultural zeitgeist in ways few others can, and a great partnership can make that even better."

Look at the numbers behind this strategy.

The partnership announcement comes as both companies look to strengthen their market positions despite broader challenges in their respective industries.

Wall Street clearly sees the potential here.

The future of advertising is already here

What Netflix and AB InBev figured out is that Americans are creating new social rituals around streaming content.

Instead of meeting friends at bars to watch games, people are hosting viewing parties at home for everything from true crime documentaries to reality TV shows.

The beer company wants to be part of that experience in ways that feel natural rather than forced.

"We are super excited about creating attention-grabbing campaigns with AB InBev that are just as unique, fun, and creative as the shows and movies they support," Lee said.

This isn’t your grandfather’s beer commercial strategy.

It’s recognition that the living room has become the new social hub for millions of Americans.

Traditional bars and restaurants are competing with the comfort and convenience of home entertainment setups that rival movie theaters.

Netflix and AB InBev are betting that Americans will keep drinking beer – they’ll just be doing it in different places than previous generations.

The partnership could reshape how consumer brands think about reaching audiences who have largely abandoned traditional television advertising.

For investors, this represents a new revenue stream for Netflix beyond subscription fees and a smart adaptation strategy for AB InBev in changing consumer habits.

The companies are essentially creating a new category of social commerce that combines entertainment, convenience, and traditional consumer products.

¹ Preston Mizell, "Netflix partners with AB InBev to promote beer around big ‘social moments’," Fox Business, September 22, 2025.