A new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Fox Corp. and its ad-supported streaming service, Tubi, suggests consumers want to stream more than ever before, but that they’re also budget-minded and are looking for free ad-supported mechanisms … like Tubi.
According to The Stream 2024: Streaming Insights for Marketers, 58% of young Americans would rather watch ads while streaming than pay full price for an ad-free service.
The survey also indicated that most Americans spend $120 each month on paid TV subscriptions, $8 more than they spend on gas.
With this high price tag, 53% of Gen Z and millennial respondents believe they’re overspending on streaming, the report says.
Tubi, with a business model that hinges on ad revenue to provide free on-demand viewing, stands to gain if viewers are truly so dissatisfied with current paid streaming options.
Even more, Tubi says that 62% of viewers prefer free-ad-supported streaming to paid streaming.
However, January’s Nielsen Gauge indicates that Tubi makes up 1.5% of all consumer viewership, below nearly all of the major paid streamers aside from Max and Paramount Plus.
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Tubi, according to its press release, just saw 78 million monthly active users and a 59% growth year-over-year in total viewing time, pushing it past the 8.5 billion streaming hours earned in 2023.
Tubi says that 63% of its users are cord-cutters or cord-nevers and 30% are unreachable on other major ad-supported streamers.
According to its press release, Tubi has seen 60% growth in the 18-34 demographic, with year-over-year growth rates as high as 85% among LGBT audiences.
Here are some other findings from the survey:
Jack Reid is a USC Annenberg Journalism major with experience reporting, producing and writing for Annenberg Media. He has also served as a video editor, showrunner and live-anchor during his time in the field.