Ad-Supported Streaming Now 48% of U.S. SVOD Subscriptions, Up From 39% Two Years Ago

Ad-supported streaming subscriptions reached 110 million in the United States, excluding Prime Video, and now account for 48 percent of all SVOD subscriptions, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The figure marks an increase from 39 percent two years earlier. Prime Video has included commercials as its default option since early 2024.

Ad-supported subscriptions accounted for 59 percent of gross additions in the first quarter of 2026 to the eight SVOD platforms that offer ad tiers: Discovery+, Disney+, Fox One, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+ and Peacock. More than three-fourths of net additions to those platforms during the quarter came from ad tiers.

A majority of first-time subscribers, 64 percent, chose ad-supported plans.

Eleven percent of subscribers switched from an ad-free tier to an ad-supported tier in the same period. Twenty-five percent were users who had previously canceled a service and later resubscribed. The Hollywood Reporter noted that streamers charge less per month for ad-supported tiers yet have begun to steer users toward those plans as advertising revenue grows.

Cord cutters showed less inclination to adopt ad-supported options. Fifty-seven percent of users who canceled a multi-channel service chose either ad-free streaming or no streaming service within 90 days of cutting the cord. The report covers data collected through the first quarter of 2026.