What changed
Paid streaming is running out of easy growth. Forrester expects at least three subscription services to add a free, ad-supported tier in 2027, and it names Disney+ as the most likely to go first.1 Years of price increases have worn down the affordability that drew people to streaming, and free services are gaining ground. Tubi reached 22% of monthly users this year.1
Streamers are also selling more ads inside the plans they already have. Ampere Analysis counted 18% more ad minutes per hour across major platforms between January and August.2 Paramount+, Hulu and Disney+ run the heaviest loads at roughly 7.5 to 9 minutes an hour. Netflix, Prime Video and Tubi run about 2.4 to 3.3 Viewers are staying put for now, with churn around 4%.3
What fuller breaks mean for a dealer
More free viewing means more households a dealer can reach in its own zip codes. It also means more ads in every break, and more chances for one spot to wear out its welcome. In Omnicom research published by Vibe, 80% of viewers said a bad ad is worse than no ad at all.4
Free apps also give a vendor room to stretch a budget. One former dealer-group CMO told Pasch Group that a vendor's $33 CPM buy placed 30% of the streaming spend on Samsung TV Plus, a free service, instead of the premium apps described in the sale.5 Free apps can be a sensible buy when the dealer knows the mix and the price reflects it.
Creative carries more of the load
Vibe studied about 17,000 streaming ads over 90 days. Its 15-second spots drove 44% more site visits than 30-second spots, while a 30-second spot converted about 7% better when the same advertiser ran both.4 The same report cites Omnicom research that 40% of viewers are likelier to buy from brands running a sequence of ads than from brands repeating one spot.4