What you will find in the article
- Streaming ad tiers are projected to out-earn premium subscriptions by 2029.
- Ad-supported subscribers are growing as premium subscriptions decline in Western markets.
- Unscripted programming attracts more advertising minutes than scripted content.
- Streamers are expanding local partnerships and experimenting with short-form content.
A comparison between ad-free subscription and ad tier subscription shows that, since 2021, the number of ad-supported subscribers has kept grown constantly and even exceeded declining premium subs in both Europe and North America. In terms of revenues, Ad tiers are projected to reach around $60 billion (€53.6bn) by 2030 versus $55 billion for premium.
In the West, there will be more subscribers seeing ads on global streaming platforms than not in 2026.
The market trend has already an impact on programming strategy.
“The type of content that works has changed,” Bisson noted. “Unscripted content suddenly becomes interesting,” he suggested, as the genre allows more ads per hour viewed.
Between Q2 2022 and Q2 2026, only Apple has increased its volume of scripted content as it positions itself as the home of premium drama. The percentage of content hours that are unscripted has reached 50 per cent on Disney+ in 2026, while it has grown to 65 per cent on HBO Max.
“On US streaming services in September 2026, unscripted viewers saw up to 24 per cent more ad minutes each hour than scripted viewers. The shorter formats allow for more ads to be wrapped in,” Bisson advised.
In the end, streamers still offer a ‘premium’ experience on their ad tiers, but ad minutes are growing fast. Between January and September 2026, Netflix in the US has increased its volume of advertising by 90 per cent, while AVoD platform Pluto TV limited itself to a slightly more than 60 per cent. In the Western markets, pricing also encourages ad-tier uptake, according to Ampere Analysis. To upgrade from ad tier to ad-free, the cost is multiplied by 1.8 for Netflix in France and 1.5 for HBO Max and Paramount+, while it is highest in Germany, Italy and Spain.
“Though ad viewers are a challenge because they watch less often, the local ad-supported experts like TF1, France Télévisions, M6 in France or RTVE in Spain then become interesting partners for the global streamers” Bisson said.
In Spain, Netflix announced an expanded content deal with AtresMedia, the owner of Antena 3 commercial channel, following a similar deal with TF1 in France.
Ads also drive format experimentation; in August, Disney concluded a deal with TikTok allowing creators to use its IP to make short form content.
Source: advanced-television.com