American streamers are more than happy to watch content with advertising if it means they wind up paying less for a premium video experience, according to a new survey released by Hub Entertainment Research.
The survey — which gathered responses from around 3,000 Americans between the ages of 14 and 74 — found two-thirds of streaming consumers were willing to watch content with ads if it meant spending less money on subscription products over time. (It wasn’t clear from the report how many consumers between the ages of 14 and 18 are paying for their own subscription TV services.)
Around 66 percent affirmed their willingness to pay for ad-supported tiers over more-premium ones in order to save money, up 8 points from Hub’s most-recent survey in 2021. Likewise, the number of consumers who said they couldn’t tolerate streaming content with ads decreased from 17 percent to 12 percent over the same three-year period.
When it comes to the overall ad experience, satisfaction is higher among ad-supported premium video (AVOD) services compared to free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms, with 22 percent saying the experience is a “lot better” on AVOD platforms compared to just 11 percent who said the same for FAST platforms.
Cable-like streaming services split the difference, with 16 percent saying virtual multi-video programming distributors (vMVPD) had a better ad experience compared to other platforms.
“Over the past few years, the video ecosystem has seen fundamental change, with nearly all the formerly ad-free streamers adding a lower cost ad-supported tier,” said Mark Loughney, a senior consultant at Hub. “Consumers have responded not by rejecting advertising or canceling subscriptions, but embracing the opportunity to save on their monthly subscriptions. By putting forth an overt offer of lower fees in exchange for watching a reasonable number of ads, the streaming services have given consumers a better value proposition. As a result, the future of the streaming advertising marketplace looks very bright.”
