Key Points
- Ad-supported subscription streaming tiers are becoming the dominant monetization model in North America, according to new data from Ampere Analysis.
- The firm expects ad tiers to account for 54 percent of total subscription streaming revenue in the region by the end of the year.
- Subscription streaming advertising revenue alone is expected to exceed $18 billion in North America this year.
- North America accounts for nearly 60 percent of global ad-supported subscription streaming revenue.
Ad-supported tiers are becoming the dominant business model for subscription streaming services in North America, according to new research from Ampere Analysis.
Ad tiers will account for 54 percent of total subscription streaming revenue in the region by the end of the year, part of a broader shift by some major streaming platforms like Disney, Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video to rely on advertising as a bigger growth driver of their overall streaming TV businesses, Ampere said.
Advertising revenue alone will exceed $18 billion in North America this year, representing more than one-fifth of total subscription streaming revenue for the first time, according to Ampere’s projections. The region now accounts for nearly 60 percent of global ad-supported subscription streaming revenue; Ampere attributed North America’s lead to higher subscription average revenue per user, stronger advertising rates, a more mature connected television ad market and greater consumer acceptance of ads.
Amazon Prime Video is expected to remain the largest ad-supported subscription streaming service in North America, with revenue forecast to exceed $14 billion in 2026. Amazon shifted most Prime Video users onto an ad-supported plan in 2023, requiring subscribers to pay more to avoid commercials.
Netflix and Disney Plus have taken a different approach by encouraging users to select lower-priced ad tiers with lighter ad loads. For Netflix, the strategy appears to be rooted in a determination to generate revenue off a single subscriber in two ways — first from the subscription that lowers the gate to accessing content, and the second from ad revenue that is becoming a bigger part of its business. Disney has adopted the same strategy in recent years.
Consumer goods and retail advertisers are helping drive the shift. Procter & Gamble, Amazon and Walmart have accounted for 22 percent of U.S. subscription streaming advertising impressions so far in 2026, according to Ampere’s data.
The move toward advertising is also changing programming strategies: Ampere said the six largest global streamers doubled first-run and renewal orders for unscripted content in North America between 2020 and 2025, increasing investment in shows that encourage regular, habitual viewing.
“Advertising has become a fundamental part of streamers’ business models, changing both how success is measured and the content they commission,” Rory Gooderick, the Research Manager at Ampere Analysis, said in a statement on Monday. “As subscriber growth slows in mature markets, the focus has shifted towards driving engagement and habitual viewing. The challenge now is to increase monetization without compromising the premium viewing experience that these streamers have spent years cultivating.”
When it comes to which streaming platforms deliver the most ads against their episodic content, the data really varies: According to a separate report released by Ampere earlier this year, Paramount’s TV shows have a stronger ad load within the Paramount Plus app compared to its movies, while Netflix has about an even ad load across its content.
