Ad-supported streaming services are quickly catching on with frugal Americans, as more opt for the plans in order to take advantage of access to premium shows and movies at lower prices, according to a new report from Antenna.
In its latest “State of Subscriptions” presentation, Antenna said 46 percent of most subscriptions involve an ad-supported plan, up 13 percent compared to 2023.
Ad-supported plans captured 57 percent of all new streaming activations during the first three months of 2025, Antenna said, down just 1 percent compared to the first three months of 2024, but up 13 percent when compared to the same time period in 2023.
The data reflected ad-supported plans on Disney Plus, Hulu, Max, Discovery Plus, Netflix, Paramount Plus and Peacock. Antenna said Apple TV Plus and Starz were not included; the report also appeared to exclude other services like AMC Plus that also have ad-supported plans.
Still, the inclusion of many top-tier streaming services appears to track the typical use case in an American household, with all the included services ranking somewhere on Nielsen’s monthly “The Gauge” report, including its recent report for April.
Ad-based tiers have attracted consumers for a number of reasons, including price, with the retail monthly cost saving customers quite a bit of cash compared to commercial-free options. Some companies, like Disney, also offer bundles that include the ad-supported tiers of their streaming services with even lower prices.
Three out of four streamers in the U.S. have tried an ad-supported tier at some point in the past two years, Antenna reported. By comparison, slightly more than half had done the same by the end of the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.
While ad-supported plans might have a number of benefits, customers who subscribe to them aren’t as loyal as those who take commercial-free options, the Antenna data showed. The typical churn rate of an ad-supported streaming tier was 5 percent by the end of March; by comparison, the churn rate of a commercial-free streaming plan was around 4 percent.
That said, churn rates across ad-supported and ad-free plans appeared to peak and volley at the same pace over the past 24 months. And consumers seemed willing to take ad-free options when they’re asked more than once, with 86 percent of consumers activating an ad-supported streamer when asked twice or more, Antenna said.
Antenna’s reports are based on financial data collected from credit card and bank statements, among other sources.
The full State of Subscriptions report is available to view by clicking or tapping here.
