Ad-supported streaming grew significantly across major platforms from Q4 2024 to Q3 2025, even as Prime Video saw a decline in usage.
According to research from Digital i, the global adoption of ad-supported subscription tiers surged for Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max during this period. Notably, Netflix saw the most significant increase, with 40% of its active accounts using the Standard with Ads plan in Q3 2025 across the 20 countries analysed by Digital i, and this marks a notable rise of 14% from 26% of subscribers on that tier reported in Q4 2024 in Digital i’s trend report titled Evolving Streamer Strategies.
Further insights from Comscore’s State of Streaming 2025 report revealed that time spent on leading ad-supported streaming services increased by 43% in 2025, with Netflix’s ad-supported plan now making up 45% of total viewing hours in U.S. households—up from 34% in August 2024.
During the same timeframe, Disney+ saw its ad-supported tier usage jump from 35% to 44%, while HBO Max’s usage rose from 22% to 28%. Although Amazon’s Prime Video still holds the record for the highest ad-supported tier usage, that number dipped from 88% of subscribers in Q4 2024 to 82% by Q3 2025.
Digital i collects and analyses streaming audience data across a variety of countries, including the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Australia, South Korea, and Japan.
