Netflix Inc. expects its upcoming ad-supported subscription plan to reach about 40 million viewers worldwide by the third quarter of 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a document shared with ad buyers.

The streaming pioneer told ad executives in preliminary projections that 4.4 million "unique viewers" globally are expected to sign up for the new tier by year-end, with 1.1 million coming from the United States, the report said.

The unique viewers metric is estimated to be higher than the number of subscribers for the ad-supported Netflix plan, since more than one person in a subscribing household will likely be able to watch the service.

"We are still in the early days of deciding how to launch a lower-priced, ad-supported tier and no decisions have been made," Netflix said in a statement. Its shares were 2% higher.

Netflix lost 970,000 subscribers from April through June in a sign that the world's dominant streaming service was cracking under unruly inflation, the Ukraine war and fierce competition.

That prompted the company to announce plans for a cheaper, ad-supported subscription option next year, as well as carry out job cuts.

Netflix said on Wednesday it has cut 30 jobs in its animation unit. The company had let go of 300 employees, or 4% of its workforce, in June.