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There won鈥檛 be a significant influx of new subscribers in the coming years, and existing subscribers have also opted for fewer subscriptions. We expect subscription buyers to spend more over time. But it won鈥檛 keep pace with overall spending by digital buyers. Our forecast estimates that the average spend per subscription buyer will grow from $687.86 to $932.36 between 2023 and 2027.

Opportunity for Netflix: Economic turmoil could open a door for Netflix鈥擫atin America鈥檚 most popular streaming service鈥攖o gain more customers for its ad-supported offering. Though most of Netflix's subscribers in Latin America prefer ad-free services, its biggest opportunity lies with the region鈥檚 lower and middle classes.

The news: Amazon Music added an AI 鈥淓xplore鈥� button for Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers. The AI tool, currently in beta for select customers, gives smartphone app users a deep dive on artists鈥� backgrounds and inspirations. Users can then create custom playlists based on Explore results.

It鈥檚 becoming more expensive for streaming viewers to avoid advertising. Netflix, Disney+, and others have raised subscription prices over the past several months.

Ad spend won鈥檛 be a primary driver of revenue growth for Netflix in 2024 or 2025, Neumann said, but ad-supported tiers contribute to subscriber growth, with 45% of new subscribers opting for ad tiers in markets where they are available, per Netflix.

And the interesting dynamic that we think explains it is that A, it's gotten a lot of new subscribers, Netflix's password sharing crackdown worked well and they got a lot of new subscribers.

Music companies are increasingly leaning into exclusive, value-driven offerings to sustain subscriber growth. For Spotify and UMG, meeting the expectations of artists, songwriters, and audiences will remain critical. Go further: Read our latest Audio Ad Spending report.

Our take: The collapse of Venu Sports will slow the pace of streaming industry consolidation, with each of its stakeholders opting to focus on their own products rather than pursue the controversial joint venture.

Streaming has transformed sports viewership鈥攁nd advertising along with it. With more fans tuning in through connected TV than traditional broadcast, brands now have a unique chance to reach a loyal, engaged audience.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss who's leading the ad-supported vs. ad-free video streaming race, how much money is coming from both avenues, and how streaming will differ from (and look the same as) cable in a few years. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Ross Benes.

The shift from traditional TV to digital platforms is creating new opportunities to capture sports audiences鈥攇iving platforms a chance to attract subscribers and reduce churn. Sports viewership is relatively predictable compared with other types of programming, making it a safer investment for media companies and strategically important for retaining viewers and attracting new subscribers.

And digital audio is complicated by the fact that the leading platforms like Spotify are more interested in subscriber fee-based subscriptions than ad revenue, so they want you to pay to avoid ads.鈥�. Podcasters are particularly attentive audio listeners, and can be seen as an untapped market for advertisement investment. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not saying this is a call to action.

T-Mobile is also expected to offer satellite calling and data services 鈥渃oming in the future,鈥� a move that could compel upgrades to existing smartphone plans and entice subscribers of competing networks.

Defined as former traditional pay TV subscribers who canceled in favor of streaming, the number of cord-cutters in Canada will be 8.6 million this year. That鈥檚 up from 5.1 million five years ago. Cord-nevers will reach 4.5 million this year.

Streaming ad loads haven鈥檛 changed much lately. To a viewer accustomed to watching Netflix without ads, 9 minutes of ads per hour may seem like a lot. But that鈥檚 still much lower than linear TV, which has about 15 minutes of ads per hour.

The number of Snapchat+ subscribers rose to over 3 million after My AI was introduced, making it a bright spot in Snap鈥檚 otherwise dour revenue picture (though there was also a user backlash to the AI launch). The Snapchat+ boost might signal user interest in AI as a digital toy, but it also has advertising implications.

The Walt Disney Co.鈥檚 recent moves, including the full acquisition of Hulu and adjustments in its content investment strategies, underscore a pivotal phase for the growth of the entertainment giant鈥檚 streaming business.

The news: American Express partnered with streaming platform Max to offer cardholders limited-time premium perks in honor of season three of HBO鈥檚 The White Lotus, per a press release.

Spotify鈥檚 ad-supported streaming offering provides a range of promotional venues for brands, as do other platforms for digital audio. Canada鈥檚 listeners have made the switch to digital audio. For the first time, adult digital audio listeners will outnumber adult radio listeners this year.

On today's episode, we discuss how Spotify beat expectations, why a price hike is inbound, and the audio streaming company's relationship with artificial intelligence (AI). "In Other News," we talk about AI-powered ads for Google and whether Peacock can survive the streaming wars. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.

Our take: OpenAI took the enterprise world by storm and now has over 3 million paid business subscribers. It has the potential to be an all-in-one solution if it could use its interface as a document creator and data storage solution, but Microsoft鈥檚 and Google鈥檚 brand recognition in that space is likely to keep ChatGPT enterprise solutions on the sidelines鈥攆or now.

AI has been a major driver of subscriptions: The company launched a ChatGPT-powered MyAI chatbot on Snapchat last April, with expanded access for Snapchat+ subscribers. AI isn鈥檛 just a subscriber perk鈥攊t鈥檚 also played into Snap鈥檚 advertising business.

The degree to which streaming services seek out and rely on ads as a main revenue driver varies widely.