Subs to Ad-Supported Tiers Tops 100 Million in the U.S.

There are more than 100 million subscribers to ad-supported tiers on SVOD platforms in the U.S., per Ampere Analysis.

Hulu, Peacock and Paramount+ represent the majority of those subs, the research company notes, but uptake is increasing for both Netflix and Disney+. Ampere indicates that more than 1 million Netflix accounts are on the ad tier, about 2 percent of its overall base. Disney+ has about 800,000 on its ad-supported tier, also a 2 percent share of its base.

At Warner Bros. Discovery, prior to the rollout of Max, there were 10 million accounts on discovery+’s ad-supported tier, with about 2 million on HBO Max.

Meanwhile, at Hulu, which had an ad tier before the ad-free one, some 90 percent of subscribers have opted for the former, representing about 45 million customers. Of any new U.S. OTT service, Peacock has the most ad-supported subs, at about 30 million, with Paramount+ closely behind it at 25 million.

Ad-supported tiers are expected to bring in more than $10 billion in advertising revenues in 2027. “Ampere’s view is that hybrid services are an increasingly important element of streaming service monetization, and hybrid tiers often generate more revenue per subscription than their ad-free counterparts—a key reason why Netflix has begun to remove the option for new subscribers to take the ad-free basic tier in many of its markets. The tiers also represent a way for consumers to maintain a wider array of subscriptions while economic times remain tough.”