More Political Ads Are Coming to Your Favorite Streaming Service
As the 2024 U.S. presidential election looms, streaming users will have to prepare to see many more political ads than they have in the past.
In all, ad-supported streaming is a definite improvement over watching linear TV with commercials. Sure, ads can get repetitive on streaming, but they’re far less numerous than commercials on traditional television. Plus, streaming platforms are traditionally a safe harbor for viewers who want to avoid pesky political ads during election season; just last year, Hulu rejected “sensitive” campaign ads ahead of highly consequential midterm elections in the United States.
- As cord-cutters continue to leave pay-TV plans, political campaigns have to find them where they are: streaming services.
- More and more providers are adopting ad-supported streaming, and the search for ad revenues will undoubtedly lead them to political commercials.
- The rules governing streaming and linear TV commercials are different, so streamers can charge campaigns whatever they want to show ads.
Campaigns Know You’ve Left Linear TV Behind
A study from 2022 found that only 49% of registered voters still used traditional pay TV and that 25% of those were thinking about canceling their subscriptions within the next year. That’s part of the reason that Hulu reversed course somewhat and began showing more political ads last summer; advertising revenues are down across the board as it is, and streaming services might as well take advantage of the number of users leaving cable.
That’s especially true considering the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates streaming services differently than traditional TV when it comes to showing ads. Broadcast and cable channels have to charge the lowest possible rate to air campaign ads, but streaming services get to ask for whatever price they want. The only restriction on streaming platforms is that any political ads shown must disclose who paid for them.
How Much More Frequent Will Political Ads Get on Streaming Services?
On the other hand, campaign ads could be far cheaper on streaming services than on linear TV because of the relatively small amount of room on TV for those ads. There are a limited number of ad slots on TV during a given day, which drives up the price of those slots. Conversely, streaming services aren’t beholden to a set viewing schedule; people can turn on shows whenever they want for however long they want, which means there are more ad slots to sell on streaming and the price for each individual ad would be lower, at least in theory.
For customers, this will mean a marked increase in political ads on streaming platforms, especially as the 2024 U.S. presidential election draws closer. More and more customers are choosing ad-supported streaming nowadays; Disney+ says it now has 5.2 million users on its Basic plan, and around 30% of Netflix signups are for its Standard with Ads plan nowadays. A recent survey found that 68% of millennials use at least one ad-supported streaming service or plan, so that generation, in particular, will notice a big upswing in political ads on streaming in the next year.
Streaming services are using their ad tiers as important pieces in their collective quest to become profitable (or in Netflix’s case, more profitable). Political ads will end up being easy money for streamers, and an ad market that has not rebounded in 2023 as many experts predicted will leave advertisers desperate to put anything that makes them money in front of the eyes of users. The FCC will likely take a look at rules governing political ads on streaming once the next election is over because there will almost certainly be a huge increase in such ads on platforms like Hulu, Max, Prime Video, and Netflix this cycle.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Amazon Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.