- Many streamers followed Netflix's lead and launched without ads.
- But now Netflix and its competitors all offer a lower-priced version with ads.
Remember when one of the big selling points of streaming was that it meant you weren't seeing ads?
That's gone now: While most streamers still allow you to watch ad-free versions if you're willing to pay more, they are increasingly interested in building up versions of their offerings that have ads.
Netflix, which had insisted for years that it wasn't interested in advertising, is the most noteworthy pivot, but other streamers that launched ad-free, like Max/HBO Max and Disney+, have added ads to the mix as well.
Meanwhile, Hulu, which had always had an ad-supported version but didn't promote it that much, has shifted emphasis to its with-ads version as well.
And now, as streamers and customers get more comfortable with the proposition — and as streamers come under increasing pressure to deliver revenue and profits, instead of just subscriber growth — comes the next step: jamming more ads onto your screen.
This chart, using data from advertising research firm MediaRadar, shows you how ad loads — the amount of ad minutes per hour — have increased for many streamers over the past two years.
Of course, people signed up for the lower-cost ad tiers knowing they'll get ads. But someone who's forking over $15 a month for a streamer might be OK with 5 minutes worth of commercials for every hour watched; they might start to get annoyed with 10. So it'll be something interesting to watch as the platforms tinker with their ads per hour.
Netflix and Disney+ are relatively new to ads, so it's harder to get a bead on their ability and interest to sell more ads per hour.
It's also worth noting that several of these streamers are either owned or controlled by the same corporate entity (Disney+/Hulu, Max/Discovery+, Paramount+/Pluto) and may end up actually folded into each other sooner or later.
But the main takeaway is that if you're watching a streamer with ads today, you can expect to see more ads in the future.