Ad-supported tiers drive 71% of SVOD net new subscribers
eMarketer reports that ad-supported streaming tiers are now the primary driver of new subscriber growth in the US, with 71% of net new SVOD subscribers over the past nine quarters coming from ad-supported plans. Nearly half of all US streaming subscribers (46%) now pay for ad-supported tiers, demonstrating consumer willingness to accept ads for lower costs and high platform retention for these plans.
Key Takeaways
- 46% of US streaming subscribers now pay for ad-supported tiers across Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, HBO Max, and others.
- 71% of net new SVOD subscribers over the past nine quarters came from ad-supported plans, according to Antenna.
- Ad-supported subscriptions made up 57% of Q1 2025 gross subscriber additions, only 1 percentage point below last year’s NFL-driven spike.
- Netflix’s ad-supported tier reaches 94 million global monthly active users, up from 70 million six months earlier.
- Amazon Prime Video reaches 130 million ad-supported viewers in the US after its January 2024 shift to default ad inclusion.
Why It Matters
Ad-supported tiers are now doing most of the subscriber-growth work in US streaming, which means pricing and ad load are increasingly tied to acquisition. The pattern spans Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime Video, so hybrid monetization is no longer a niche add-on. Antenna’s clearest watchpoint is retention: its Q2 2025 report found no significant difference between ad-supported and ad-free subscribers, even as 65% of ad-supported users are new to the platforms and 23% are win-backs.
Read full article at emarketer.com
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