SAN FRANCISCO—A new consumer survey on the state of the streaming industry from Fox’s free-ad supported streaming service Tubi and The Harris Poll, finds that consumers are spending significantly more money on streaming and TV subscriptions, and that consumers have mixed attitudes towards ads in streaming services.
The survey found that viewers are willing to accept ads, but not if theyʼre paying for it: 79% of consumers feel that if theyʼre paying for a streaming service, they expect no ads at all, while 81% say that watching ads is a fair trade-off for access to free content on streaming.
It also found that viewers are spending $129 combined in a month on streaming services and paid TV subscriptions (a 7.5% increase YoY), which is significantly higher than the 2.9% increase in the overall consumer price index (CPI) from Dec. 2023 to Dec. 2024.
Over half of respondents 56% monitor streaming services carefully so as to not overspend. Gen Z viewers are particularly cost-conscious: 76% say they have or would end their streaming subscription over increased price.
Commenting on the results, Cynthia Clevenger, senior vice president of B2B Marketing at Tubi remarked that “todayʼs viewers are more selective than ever, carefully choosing where to invest their time and attention. As consumer behaviors continue to evolve, these insights offer marketers a valuable opportunity to connect with key audiences—like Gen Z—in an environment where they find real value through diverse content, seamless ad integration, and a viewing experience that mirrors paid services without the cost.ˮ
Other key highlights include:
- Americans are avid streamers: 57% of viewers stream TV and movies for 13 hours in one sitting, and 38% say they stream for 3 hours or more. On average, viewers are juggling nearly 7 streaming services, with a mix of paid streaming services 3.9 on average) and free services 2.6 on average).
- Viewers are turning to streaming as a form of escapism: 80% of viewers say theyʼd rather spend their time watching a TV show / movie than scrolling on social media. In fact, consumers are most likely to reach for streaming when they need a mental break 59%, followed by listening to music 50% or scrolling social media 38%.
- Viewers increasingly favor indies over remakes: 70% of streamers want to see more TV shows / movies on streaming that are independent or from smaller creators (a 4% increase year-over-year), with 73% of Gen Z saying they prefer to watch original content over franchises / remakes. 72% of Gen Z streamers also wish they had more of a say in the type of content that gets made for streaming services.
- Young workers are streaming on the clock (and lying about it): Half of Gen Z admitted to streaming while working from home - and nearly 48% admit to lying to their bosses about it.
- Singles wonʼt share their streaming passwords until they DTR (define the relationship): 70% of singles wonʼt share their streaming login with a romantic partner until the relationship becomes serious and 44% of Gen Z have admitted to using an exʼs streaming login even after they broke up. Taste matters too: 35% of Gen Z and Millennials have ended relationships over incompatible viewing habits.
- Out with the new, in with the old: Viewers are in their new-stalgia era: 66% say they are enjoying discovering content that was originally released 10 years ago, while 87% of Gen Z agree that streaming services should show them older content theyʼve never seen before in addition to new shows / movies.
- Ads can spark action among Gen Z, but only if theyʼre relevant: 81% of Gen Z agree that theyʼd consider taking action after seeing interesting ads while streaming, yet 73% feel that the ads theyʼre currently seeing on streaming seem misaligned with their personal preferences.
Tubi, which recently surpassed 97 million monthly active users and streamed over 10 billion hours during the 2024 calendar year, also reported that more than 95% of viewing on Tubi is on-demand movies and TV shows.
Over thirty-four percent of Tubi viewers are between the ages of 1834, over half are Gen Z or Millennials and nearly half are multicultural, while 65% are cord-cutters or cord-nevers, according to the November MRI Cord Evolution Study.
Last month, in partnership with Fox Sports, Tubi delivered the most-streamed Super Bowl in history as part of Fox Sportʼs game day takeover, reaching 15.5 million peak concurrent streaming viewers and a 13.6 million average minute audience.
The survey was conducted within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Tubi from October 21, 2024, to November 1, 2024, among 2,502 18 adults that stream video at least 1 hour a week
For more information and to download The Stream 2025 Audience Insights Shaping Streaming, visit here.
