The percentage of people who are willing to sit through ads to avoid paying for a video streaming subscription continues to grow. According to a new study from Tubi, 84% now feel the use of ads is a fair trade-off for access to free content.
Key Takeaways
- 84% of viewers see ads as a fair trade for free content, and most prefer ads on free platforms over paid ones.
- Concerns over costs are pushing people to cancel paid subscriptions and avoid paywalled content.
- While viewers tolerate ads, they still expect a better ad experience, including lower ad loads and more relevant ads.
For some time now, one of the major pain points for streaming consumers is the never-ending price increase cycle.
Each year many of the most popular streaming services increase in cost, and for those paying for multiple subscriptions at the same time, these increases can collectively become too much.
Naturally, this has resulted in the free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) side of the business becoming all the more popular. A trend which continued throughout 2025.
According to Tubi‘s latest The Stream study, the ability to stream content for free continues to gain favor with consumers.
The study found that 84% now agree with the premise that watching ads is a fair trade-off for free content, a 3% increase on the previous year. The percentage increases to 90% when focused on Gen Z users.
Although ads are used in both free and paid streaming services, the study found that 83% feel the use of ads is more acceptable on free platforms.
In general, 76% prefer to watch content on a free platform with ads than on a paid platform with ads.
While consumers increasing seem to prefer using free services over paid services, any capacity where the use of ads results in saving money appears to be the growing preference.
When its comes to paid services that offer both ad-supported and ad-free plans, instead of paying full price for an ad-free streaming experience, 73% said they would prefer to watch ads and use the few additional dollars saved each month to pay for something else, like a coffee.
Even though the use of ads is becoming more acceptable in general, the consensus is that services need to continue to focus on making the ad experience as user-friendly as possible. This includes utilizing lower ad loads and ensuring the relevancy of ads.
Other cost-related takeaways from the study include:
- 74% have (or would) cancel a subscription due to a price increase
- 67% have skipped watching a new show or movie after realizing a paid subscription was required.
In partnership with The Harris Poll, the study was conducted online between November 24, 2025 and December 2, 2025. The study included 2,500 respondents in the US who spend at least one hour a week streaming video.
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