Key Points
- Streaming apps that launched with ad-supporter tiers enjoy a higher ratio of customers on them compared to ad-free plans, according to new Parks Associates data.
- Peacock and Hulu lead the pack with a higher number of ad-tier customers relative to their premium offerings, while Netflix and HBO Max are near-evenly split.
- The data is outlined in the annual “State of Streaming” report for 2026, which will be revealed further at the Future of Video conference this week.
American consumers are now selecting the ad-supported plan of a premium streaming service almost by default in order to maintain a blend of apps that appeal to their entertainment wishes, according to new research from Parks Associates.
The research, shared exclusively with The Desk last week, showed streaming apps that launched with ad-supported plans from the start have a higher ratio of subscribers on those plans compared to their more-expensive, commercial-free tiers.
Comcast’s Peacock and the Walt Disney Company’s Hulu are two such apps, and they lead the bunch: More than three-quarters of Peacock subscribers, and nearly 70 percent of Hulu customers, are streaming shows and movies with ads, compared to nearly one-third of Hulu customers and under a quarter of Peacock subscribers who opt for the costlier, ad-free plan.
A notable exception is Amazon’s Prime Video, where more than two-thirds of streamers are watching content with ads — likely the result of Amazon choosing to switch its Prime members to the ad-supported tier by default two years ago, when members were previously able to stream Prime Video’s licensed shows and movies without ads. Only 31 percent of streamers said they’ve opted to purchase an add-on to Prime Video that removes commercials from on-demand shows and movies; live sports and similar events stream with ads across all plans.
Premium streamers that have nascent ad businesses have fewer subscribers on ad-supported tiers, but the data from Parks Associates shows that most of those services enjoy a near-even split of customers streaming with ads and customers who pay for more-expensive plans.
Netflix has the largest number of streamers who pay to avoid ads, with 51 percent of customers affirming a subscription to either Netflix Standard or Netflix Premum. Only 48 percent of Netflix streamers say they watch content with ads — the second-lowest number in Parks Associates’ ranker.
HBO Max, owned by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), also had a near-even split, with 50 percent streaming content without commercials and 47 percent on an HBO Max plan with ads. Disney Plus was not too far behind, with 43 percent streaming content without ads compared to 54 percent who are on an ad-lite plan.
Paramount Plus and Discovery Plus were in the middle, though nearly two out of every three customers are on an ad-supported plan. Apple TV Plus is the only premium service that does not have an ad-supported plan, with all on-demand movies and TV shows streaming commercial-free. (Apple TV Plus, which is being renamed to Apple TV next month, carries a limited amount of ad-subsidized live sports.)
Analysts at Parks Associates said the proliferation of ad-supported tiers across premium streaming services benefits consumers as much as it does the platforms: Consumers are able to maintain subscriptions to several apps at lower price points, and the platforms benefit from higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and lower churn.
“Ad-tier normalization signals a long-term hybrid revenue model,” analysts said.
The findings were published in Parks Associates’ annual “State of Streaming” report for 2026, which will be revealed in greater detail during the Future of Video show that starts on Tuesday. The Desk is an editorial partner of the event.
