Ad-supported streaming subscriptions reach 46% of U.S. market in Q1 2025

Advertising now accounts for nearly half of all subscriptions across premium subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services that offer both ad-supported and ad-free options, according to Antenna’s Q2 2025 “State of Subscriptions Report.”

Antenna reported that ad-supported subscriptions comprised 46% of total subscriptions by the end of Q1 2025, reflecting a 32.7% year-over-year increase. In contrast, ad-free subscriptions declined slightly by 0.1% over the same period.

Ad-supported tiers were responsible for 71% of net subscriber additions across nine fiscal quarters, adding 7.6 million more users year-over-year, increasing from 19.8 million in 2023 to 27.4 million in 2024. This compares with ad-free net additions, which fell from 14.1 million to 5.4 million during the same timeframe.

In Q1 2025 alone, ad-supported net additions declined by 3.3 million year-over-year, a change attributed to a one-time event: Peacock’s exclusive streaming of the NFL AFC Wild Card Game in Q1 2024, which had previously led to a surge in ad-tier sign-ups.

New users constituted 65% of ad-supported subscriptions, with the remaining 35% coming from returning users and current subscribers switching from ad-free tiers. Only 11% of ad-supported subscriptions were attributed to users switching from ad-free plans without canceling.

The report found no significant demographic differences between users of ad-supported and ad-free tiers. Loyalty rates, measured over a nine-month period, were nearly identical between the two groups, with 43% of ad-free and 42% of ad-supported subscribers maintaining their subscriptions.

Seventy-five percent of premium SVOD consumers had subscribed to an ad-supported plan at some point by March 2025, up from 66% a year earlier.

The proportion of consumers who consistently choose ads when presented with a choice has increased, with 86% of users who encountered multiple ad choices opting for an ad-supported plan at least once.

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Antenna’s report excludes data from free tiers, multichannel video programming distributors, telco distribution and select bundles. It also omits Amazon Prime Video from its ad-plan figures.