Ad-Supported Streaming Subscriptions Hit Record-High As 2024 Wraps

Ad-supported streaming subscriptions continue to gain traction with American viewers as 2024 comes to a close, according to a new report from Antenna, a market data firm, on Friday.

A record 43% of streaming subscriptions were ad-supported by the end of Q3, according to Antenna — marking the fifth straight quarter the sector has grown. And for comparison, only 28% of streaming subscriptions were ad-supported two years ago.

Of course, a lot has happened in the AVOD space since then, like Netflix introducing its ad-supported streaming service in 2022. The company said in November it had 70 million global ad-supported accounts; overall, Netflix had 282.7 million global customers at the end of Q3.

And the rise of ad-supported streaming seems to be top of mind for many executives. That includes Disney CEO Bob Iger, who had a hot-mic moment on the company’s earnings call last month when he revealed around 60% of new streaming subscribers opted for its ad-supported plan.

“I don’t know if I was supposed to disclose those AVOD numbers,” Iger fessed on the call.

But that admission does not seem to be too out-of-step with the rest of the industry. During the third quarter, 56% of new streaming subscriptions were ad-supported, according to Antenna. That was the fourth straight quarter a majority of new sign-ups opted for ad-supported tiers, indicating customers now prefer to sit through a few ads if it saves them a few bucks.

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