When major streaming services began launching ad-supported plans a few years ago, they made the motivation for the moves plain to analysts and investors: money. Ad plans would allow streamers to collect a dual revenue stream — one from subscribers, the other from advertisers. And though customers have groaned about the break of an assumed social contract that streaming would always remain ad-free, new research from the U.K.-based firm Digital i shows that audiences have indeed made a considerable migration to ad tiers, as streamers desired.

The research from Digital i shows that the number of global Netflix customers now using its ad tier has risen to 40% as of the third quarter of 2025. That’s a major increase from the fourth quarter of 2024, in which only 26% of Netflix customers around the world used its ad tier.

The number of customers using the ad plan on Disney+ is even higher, rising from 35% to 44% in 2025. Cost is likely a major reason so many customers have moved to an ad-supported Disney+ subscription; the service’s ad-free plan now costs $19 per month, whereas an ad-supported bundle of Disney+ and Hulu comes in at only $13.

Usage of the ad plan of HBO Max also rose over the course of 2025, albeit less dramatically. Twenty-eight percent of HBO Max customers use the streamer’s ad plan, up from 22% in 2024. Still, a larger majority of HBO Max customers prefer to keep their experience as premium as possible on the service with an ad-free experience.

There is one top streaming service in Digital i’s data where the vast majority of customers are ad-supported: Prime Video. Eighty-two percent of this service’s customers are on its ad plan as of Q3 2025, a decline from 88% in Q4 2024. The reason Prime Video’s percentage of ad-supported customers is so high has to do with the way the streamer rolled out its ad plan; instead of launching a lower-priced ad tier, Prime Video simply converted all of its ad-free customers to ad-supported and began charging more to cut out the commercials.

Streamers see their ad plans as a key way to generate not only revenue, but profit. Their efforts to drive customers to ad plans to beef up their bottom lines have had clear success, according to this research from Digital i.

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Netflix is a leading subscription-based video streaming service that offers on-demand access to an extensive library of over 3,000 movies, 2,000+ TV shows, and a growing collection of acclaimed Netflix originals. Renowned for producing groundbreaking content, Netflix has become a cultural powerhouse with hit originals like “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “The Crown,” “Tiger King,” “Bridgerton,” “The Witcher,” and “Black Mirror.”

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The platform constantly updates its catalog, introducing fresh content alongside timeless classics and international hits. Netflix’s commitment to storytelling has also earned critical acclaim, with award-winning exclusives such as “Roma,” “Marriage Story,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Mank,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” In 2023, their animated film “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, further solidifying Netflix’s reputation for high-quality content.

Recently, Netflix has expanded beyond standard movies and TV titles with the addition of video podcasts, and is also exploring a digital store that would offer third-party streamers within the app.

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