Most viewers don’t mind ads on streaming platforms, survey finds

Nobody really likes ads, but more and more people are willing to put up with them, at least if they’re streaming, according to a survey from consumer data company Disqo.

What’s newsworthy: 13% of consumers are opposed to ad tiers on streaming platforms, according to the survey, which polled roughly 18,000 US adults. That’s a significant decrease from last year’s 36% who said they were opposed to ads in exchange for discounted streaming.

In other words, it seems like Amazon picked a good time to cram ads into Prime Video. The company’s ad-supported tier, which went live this week, will automatically reach about 115 million monthly active viewers, the streamer has told advertisers (unless viewers cancel, or opt to shell out an additional $2.99 a month to watch ad-free.)

Other streaming services are continuing to encourage ad-supported viewing across the ecosystem by rolling out ad tiers and making ad-free viewing pricier. Netflix’s ad tier, which it rolled out in November 2022, now has 23 million monthly active viewers, the streamer told investors earlier this month; Disney last reported that 5.2 million customers were watching the ad-supported tier of Disney+.

Among other interesting stats pulled from the report: 88% of adults surveyed have at least one streaming subscription, while 41% subscribe to a “multichannel TV subscription” like Fubo or YouTube TV.

On the rise: Last year, US audiences streamed around 21 million years’ worth of video (!!), according to Nielsen—up 21% year over year. The most popular content by minutes viewed included shows like Suits and Ted Lasso, and movies like Moana.