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32% of US adults are watching subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services less because they are watching more on free streaming services, per a July 2023 Aluma Insights survey. For 34% of US adults, viewing behaviors across streaming services haven’t changed as a result of free streaming services.

As the TV and streaming landscape becomes increasingly fragmented, the terms used to describe different ways to watch are multiplying. We’ve already broken down the difference between connected TV (CTV) and OTT. With subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms becoming ad-supported SVODs, and ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) platforms building out free ad-supported TV (FAST) platforms, it’s difficult to keep track of what cord-cutters are actually watching. Here’s a breakdown.

Because ad-supported plans tend to generate more revenues than ad-free plans, streamers are leaning into advertising. Subscription streaming services have had varied success in driving revenues through ads. Most subscription streaming services offer ad-free and ad-supported plans.

But the news could also further delay Apple’s long-rumored ad-supported subscription tier, which is already staring down an uncertain fate after a steady drip of executive departures.

This article is part of Ä¢¹½AV’s client-only subscription Briefings—daily newsletters authored by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends. To help you finish 2024 strong and start 2025 off on the right foot, articles like this one—delivering the latest news and insights—are completely free through January 31, 2025.

There won’t be a Dish-DirecTV merger: Debtholders quashed the deal, which would have helped buy time to stave off linear’s decline.

In 2024, US digital pay TV services will make $15.41 billion in subscription revenues—that’s nearly one-fourth of total subscription over-the-top (OTT) revenues and almost one-fifth of total pay TV subscription revenues. YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV have grown their subscription revenue share. Prior to the pandemic in 2019, these services received half of US vMVPD subscription revenues.

Like most streaming services, Netflix generates more ARPU from its ad-supported plan than from its cheapest ad-free plan. Netflix will receive more than $5 per month in ad revenues per US viewer, according to our new forecast. Because multiple viewers tend to use a single subscription, this equates to more than $10 in monthly ad revenues per subscription.

India is a hotly contested region among streaming services due to its enormous population and room for subscription growth, but its variety of spoken languages makes it a difficult sector to penetrate with original content—hence cricket’s value. Our take: Iger’s statement gave a precise snapshot of Disney+’s advertising audience that can be used to assess other ad-supported video-on-demand efforts.

According to Antenna, subscription numbers for niche platforms doubled between mid-2022 and mid-2023, driven by increased demand for genre-specific content. Why it matters: As major platforms prioritize high-budget, wide-appeal content to draw mass audiences, smaller services like Hallmark+ see an opening to target viewers with more specific tastes.

CTV has become the primary gateway for popular OTT video streaming services, as well as a conduit for digital audio, gaming, and even accessing linear TV (via digital TV providers, formerly known as vMVPDs). This degree of success will mean limited topline CTV user growth going forward. Click here to view our full forecast for US CTV users. Almost everyone in the US lives in a CTV household.