Survey: 71% of Americans Choose to Stream At Least Some Videos with Ads; What Lessons Can Streamers Take?

Ad-supported streamers are having much more than just a moment in the sun. Recent data from Nielsen shows that three ad-supported streaming services have carved out a place in the top 10 streamers in terms of viewing time, and new research from Antenna is helping contextualize just how many Americans are on-board with ads.

For its latest survey, Antenna broke its respondents into four categories: Ad avoiders, who always go ad-free if given the choice between ads or no ads; ad takers, who always go for the ad-supported plan when given a choice; ad managers, who pick and choose ad-supported or ad-free depending on the situation; and ad oblivious users, who have never had to choose between an ad-supported or ad-free tier.

In 2019, two-thirds of American streaming users had never been offered an ad-supported plan when signing up for a new service. That number has dramatically decreased as new ad plan options have come to market, and as consumers sign up for more services the ad-oblivious segment is now just below one-third of the market.

Users who fall into the ad manager category must by definition have had to decide between ad-free streaming and ad-supported streaming at least twice. Among all users who have made this decision two times, 71% choose to stream video with ads at least some of the time. Only 29% are ad avoiders, who will pick an ad-free streaming option every time it is offered.

Obviously, this data demonstrates that American consumers are willing to accept ads. The question for streaming providers becomes “What makes customers tolerant of ads on Service X, and intolerant of ads on Service Y?” Since ad-supported streaming tiers are a better way of monetizing users than ad-free plans, streaming providers will eagerly pursue strategies that bring more people to options with commercials, even though they’re cheaper to consumers.

So what’s the deciding factor for users when determining whether to go ad-free or ad-supported? Ad loads are undoubtedly a key element in the equation, though a recent survey found that most streamers were increasing their ads per hour. Whichever streamer cracks the answer to this question first will have a head-start on its competitors, gaining an important edge in a highly competitive marketplace.