MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C.—America’s love affair with over-the-top streaming video is evolving as viewers increasingly are happy to watch ad-supported streaming channels, according to the results of a new nationwide survey released this week.
Global consumer research platform Piplsay polled nearly 28,000 people around the U.S. about their attitudes and habits when it comes to ad-supported video streaming services. Six in 10 told the researchers that they switched from ad-free to ad-supported streaming channels in the past year. Twenty-eight percent of those respondents have cut off ad-free channels completely, the researcher said.
Overall, 63% of Americans subscribe to a paid or free ad-supported streaming video service, the survey revealed. Nearly half (49%) of Americans said they were extremely satisfied with the content offered by ad-supported streaming services.
Eighty-two percent of respondents said they watch streaming video content. This includes both those who said they subscribe and those who watch streaming video without a subscription.
The survey revealed that the three most popular free ad-supported streaming services among respondents were Peacock (23%), The Roku Channel (17%) and Pluto (12%).
The top three paid ad-supported channels among respondents were Hulu (34%), HBO Max (26%) and Discovery+ (11%).
However, the survey also revealed strong interest in returning to ad-free streaming services. Fifty-four percent said they plan to switch to or subscribe back to ad-free services—26% of those in the next two to three months, the survey revealed.
The nationwide survey was conducted July 2-3. A total of 27,800 people, 18 years of age and older, responded to the online survey.
For more information visit the researcher’s website.
