85% of Ad-Supported Streaming Tier Sign Ups Are New Subscribers

Connected TV

Netflix and Disney+—two of the newer entrants into the hybrid ad-supported streaming space—are reaping the fruits of their efforts as their subscriber counts continue to grow despite the saturation of the streaming industry. According to a recent survey conducted by Samba TV, 19% of U.S. subscribers to Disney+ have opted for the ad-supported subscription tier introduced in December 2022. Similarly, 11% of U.S. Netflix subscribers have chosen the ad-supported Basics with Ads plan, launched in November 2022. 

Despite some concerns that these new ad-supported plans would cannibalize users from ad-free tiers, most of those ad-supported subscribers are new customers, rather than existing subscribers downgrading to a cheaper option. In fact, 85% of those on the ad-supported plans reported being new subscribers, while only 15% reported downgrading from existing no-ads subscriptions. Another survey from Antenna saw similar results—with more than one in three new sign-ups for Disney+ and one in five new sign-ups for Netflix having opted for their respective ad-supported tiers. Ultimately as streaming platforms continue to transition to offering ad-supported content, interest in streaming will only continue to rise.

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