Subscribers to ad-supported tiers have surpassed 100m in the US

The latest research from Ampere Analysis shows that adsupported tiers are growing in the US. Currently, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount+ represent the bulk of subscriptions. However, uptake is growing for players like Netflix, driven in no small part by its account-sharing crackdown, and for Disney+, which increased its price alongside launching the ad tier. Here's the current state of ad-supported subscriptions according to Ampere's own estimates: • Currently, more than 1m US Netflix accounts are on the ad-supported tier, representing nearly 2% of the entire subscriber base, whilst around 800k Disney+ accounts are on the ad-supported tier, representing around 2% of its subscriber base. • Prior to the launch of Max, Discovery+ had in the region of 10m ad-supported accounts. HBO Max had around 2m. • Ampere expects that more than 90% of Hulu subscribers are on the ad-supported tier, representing around 45m subscriptions. Hulu launched as an ad-supported subscription service in 2010, before launching its ad-free tier in 2015. • Peacock has the most ad-supported subscribers of any new US OTT service, with more than 30m ad-supported subscribers. • Paramount+ is not far behind Peacock, with more than 25m ad-supported subscribers to its service in the US. • Ampere expects that ad-supported subscription tiers in the US will generate more than $10bn in advertising revenue in 2027. 2 Ampere Analysis 2023 © Ampere’s view is that hybrid services are an increasingly important element of streaming service monetisation, 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.