Rising inflation over the past few years (it has eased, but it’s still lingering) has clearly forced viewers to reconsider their priorities. Forbes reports three years ago, 42% of respondents said their top concern was avoiding ads. But this year, that was down to 34%.
Further, Hub found a decline in the percentage of people who said they “can’t tolerate any ads in their content.” That dropped from 17% in 2021 to 12% in the most recent survey. Interestingly, the percentage of people who said content matters most rose, going from 26% to 35%.
The shuffling of top concerns has been confirmed by other recent research, too. A recent study by Attest found that Americans are watching less TV, and the firm believes one reason for that is the cost of subscriptions. With prices for groceries, gas and other necessities rising, they are less willing to pay for streaming services.
Thus embracing ads can make a difference. People were drawn to streaming networks a decade ago because most offered a streaming experience uninterrupted by ads. But recently, streamers such as Netflix and Disney+ have introduced lower-priced platforms with ads. They have proven popular, and that has changed the streaming game in many ways.
Of course, viewers do know when they’re being given more ads. Almost eight in 10 viewers said there are “big differences” in the ad loads between different streamers. But perhaps the key to turning back the ad avoidance is in how people experience those ad loads.
Respondents to the Hub survey said advertising-based video on demand offers a better viewing experience than free ad-supported streaming TV or multichannel.
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