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As streaming subscription prices increase, viewers are becoming more amendable to ad-supported tiers.

This is the Q1 2025 installment of our quarterly 鈥淎d Spending Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

What do brands need to know about the next wave of digital growth?

Now there are hundreds of channels, with major media companies creating their own Netflix competitors鈥攆rom Max to Disney+ to Peacock and beyond. This rapid acceleration in viewership and new streaming players has created massive market fragmentation that the old TV targeting and measurement methods can鈥檛 tackle.

Nielsen鈥檚 Gauge previously found that FAST services like the Roku Channel, Tubi, and Pluto TV account for a higher share of US TV use (4.3%) than the combined usage of Paramount+, Peacock, and Max (3.7%), which all include advertisements for specific subscription tiers. This indicates that advertisers could find more value in FAST services than ad-supported subscription video-on-demand.

StreamSaver, available to Comcast internet users, which includes Peacock, Netflix, and Apple TV+. A Max and Netflix bundle for Verizon subscribers. An offer that allows certain T-Mobile subscribers to receive Hulu, Netflix, MLB.TV, and Apple TV+ for free for a limited time. An offer that gives Spectrum TV customers Disney+ and ESPN+ for free, as well as Max or Paramount+ and BET+.

Besides the 2024 Peacock blip, positive and negative time spent growth rates consistently hover in the low single digits across every platform. Netflix鈥檚 ad-supported users seem to be less engaged, and that鈥檚 constraining its time spent growth.

Instacart followed in Walmart鈥檚 footsteps with a streaming partnership, giving Instacart+ members access to NBCUniversal鈥檚 Peacock. It also partnered with Uber Eats on free restaurant delivery, a move that will make Instacart+ more competitive with DoorDash鈥檚 DashPass. In turn, DoorDash partnered with Lyft to give its DashPass members rideshare discounts.

The retailer is also offering 50% off a one-year membership, which now includes a limited-time perk: three months of Peacock Premium streaming access. Improving the in-store experience: Target is expanding its physical footprint and renovating nearly 2,000 stores to create a more welcoming and engaging shopping environment.

The news: NBCUniversal and Macy鈥檚 struck a 10-year deal for the rights to broadcast the annual Macy鈥檚 Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo, per NBCUniversal, renewing their longstanding partnership. The deal also includes rights to Macy鈥檚 Countdown to Macy鈥檚 Thanksgiving Day Parade and Macy鈥檚 4th of July Fireworks special, along with a new program that is yet to be announced.

We have projected Max and Peacock for the first time, and they are both on an upward trajectory. Warner Bros. Discovery鈥檚 Max (formerly HBO Max) and Comcast鈥檚 Peacock are younger than the four platforms that lead them in the chart above. However, both are set for healthy time spent growth among the population this year.

That said, China鈥檚 triumvirate of leading sub OTT platforms (Tencent Video, Youku, and iQiyi) already have far more viewers in China than US-only providers like Hulu and Peacock have garnered. Click here to view our full forecast for digital video viewers in China or subscription OTT video viewers in China. Behind the Numbers.

NBCU's president of advertising and partnerships Alison Levin highlighted that 70% of its content hours are live moments, which it has intentionally made available on streaming platforms like Peacock.

Hulu and Peacock, which leaned into advertising from the start, will outperform against time spent. Hulu will lead all sub OTT services with $3.85 billion in ad revenues this year, and it鈥檚 also strong in time spent. Peacock is relatively new, but its ad business is doing very well given its smaller share of consumer attention.

Video ad spending continues to outpace overall digital ad spending and will power the fastest-growing ad-supported media.

Expected within months, the redesign aims to prioritize paid subscriptions from services like Peacock, Paramount+, and Max. The change comes as people now spend more time watching YouTube on TVs than on any other device, including smartphones.

Peacock, which typically trails behind leaders like Netflix and Disney, notched record subscriptions and ad sales thanks to the Paris Olympics, which generated billions in ad revenues. Max gained 7.3 million subscribers鈥攖he most ever in a single quarter鈥� thanks in part to broadcasting the World Series.

XFinity鈥檚 StreamSaver bundle, priced at $15 per month and including Peacock, Netflix, and Apple TV+, continues the industry鈥檚 push toward bundling. Why it matters:. Bundles are a proven retention strategy. Streaming services are shifting from subscriber growth to retention, as churn rates in the US have nearly tripled to 5.5% over the past four years.

Next year鈥檚 Super Bowl on NBC and Peacock will be part of a packed sports calendar, airing just two days after the start of the Winter Olympics. Our take: Even though the game was a 40-22 blowout, viewers still tuned in at record numbers, reinforcing the game鈥檚 cultural significance.

The redesign aims to prioritize paid subscriptions from services like Peacock, Paramount+ and Max. The aim here is to position YouTube as a one-stop streaming destination, Garjo notes. Daniel, I'll start with you. Can YouTube be the household streaming hub? Daniel Konstantinovic (05:57):. In some ways, it kind of feels like it already is.