83.7 million connected TV (CTV) households in the United States are now using ad-supported streaming services, according to the latest data from ComScore.
Free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services have been rising fast. So fast, in fact, that recent data from Nielsen suggested the number of FAST channels and services are making it increasingly harder for consumers to find something to watch.
Now, ComScore has released its 2023 State of Streaming report, and one of the big takeaways is that US households are now adopting ad-supported streaming services at a faster rate than non-ad-supported services.
According to ComScore, CTV households streaming ad-supported streaming services reached 83.7 million, as of May 2023, a 17% increase from 2021. In comparison, households streaming non-ad-supported services only reached 81.1 million, a 9% increase.
“While the top US streaming services are keeping up with the demand for subscriptions, new growth can be observed in FAST streaming platforms like Roku, Pluto and Tubi which are increasingly consolidating their position in the household mix,” said James Muldrow, Vice President, Product Management, Comscore.
It is not surprising that FAST and ad-supported services are continuing to prove appealing to streamers. With the prices of most paid streaming services increasing, remaining actively subscribed to multiple streaming services at the same time is continually proving more difficult.
As prices continue to increase, it seems likely that even more homes will turn to FAST and ad-supported services and subscriptions to help keep their overall streaming costs as low as possible.
Other findings from the report include the number of hours watched on connected devices increased 20% year-over-year, Hispanic households consumed nearly twice as many hours of FAST content (up 81% year-on-year), and the total number of households that stream content via smart TVs increased 23% from May 2021.
