Ad-Supported vs. Ad-Free Subscription Sign-Ups: Who's Winning?

Ad-supported platforms recently flexed their sign-up muscles, passing their ad-free counterparts for the first time. According to Antenna, in November 2023 a whopping 11.2 million users opted for ad-supported streaming — accounting for 51% of all premium streaming signups. That lift brought the grand total of streaming signups in November up to 22 million. Among the key players, Peacock led the charge with 15% growth and 3.3 million new sign-ups, while Hulu, Disney+, Paramount+, and Max also saw notable increases.

Netflix may not have made the top spots for growth last November, but that tide might be changing. New Street Research predicts that the streaming giant will lure an additional 13 million ad-supported subscribers in 2024. Netflix recently revealed that in November 2023, they had 15 million global monthly users choosing their “Basic With Ads” option — a number that rose to 23 million by the end of December. Ultimately, despite some hiccups over the last year, it looks like Netflix’s days of strife may be on the way out.