Ad-supported streaming is on the rise, according to a new report from research firm Antenna. The report says that 46% of subscriptions on Apple TV+, Discovery+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Starz are ad-supported. 75% of streaming subscribers have at least tried an ad plan.
Antenna’s Q2 2025 State of Subscriptions Report says: “Two years ago, half of the Premium SVOD services didn’t even offer an ad-supported plan, and only about 1 in 3 subscriptions were to an ad plan. Furthermore, only about half of the streaming population had ever even tried an ad plan. Given that TV had always been the foundation of the modern advertising business, the state of affairs was unsettling for Madison Avenue and left CMOs searching for new ways to get their messages out.”
Now, advertisers have successfully found ways to personalize ads to content and viewers, and services have been able to pull in new subscribers thanks to the lower cost of ad-supported plans. In fact, new users made up 65% of ad-supported subscriptions, thanks to lower subscription fees creating a lower barrier to entry. Of the remaining users, 11% were “traders” or users who were subscribed to an ad-free plan and traded it for an ad-supported plan. 23% were “win backs” or users who were previously subscribed to a service canceled, and resubscribed to the ad tier.
While cord cutters are signing up for more ad-supported plans, they aren’t necessarily sticking with them. The report shows that ad-supported plans have higher churn rates, with ad-supported tiers at 4.96% churn in March, and ad-free tiers at 4.13%. Unsurprisingly, Netflix subscribers who have stuck with their ad-free plans account for a large number of those who have not contributed to ad-free turn and are “highly unlikely to cancel,” according to Antenna.