AVOD growing faster than SVOD in the US

Consumers in the US are adopting ad-supported streamers at a faster rate than their non-ad-based counterparts, a new report has found.

According to Comscore, AVOD services are seeing adoption at a faster rate than SVOD, with a 29% increase in US households streaming AVODs in 2022 compared to 2020 vs a 21% increase during the same period for SVODs.

James Muldrow, VP product management at Comscore, said: “While both ad-supported and subscription-based streaming services are growing in the US, we’re seeing that consumers are being more mindful of their budgets and leaning towards ad-supported services. 

“This makes sense as inflation continues to hit consumer’s wallets. The time is ripe for traditionally subscription-based streaming services like Netflix to consider launching an ad-supported tier to enhance their growth trajectory.”

The report also found that US households watch an average of 5.4 streaming services per month as of March, up from 4.7 in 2021. It notes that the ‘big five’ has now become the ‘big six’, with HBO Max fast becoming a mainstay among the likes of Netflix and Prime Video.