Streaming platforms in the UK are seeing an increase in subscribers due to their ad-tier offerings, according to a recent report from U.K. ratings body Barb. Netflix and Disney+ have both experienced growth in the number of homes accessing their ad tiers in the third financial quarter of 2024.
Netflix saw a 13.1% increase in U.K. homes joining the ad tier, reaching 3.8 million homes, up from 2.78 million in the previous quarter. On the other hand, Disney+ grew its ad tier from 820,000 homes to 1.2 million homes, representing 4.1% of U.K. households.
While Barb did not provide data for Prime Video+’s ad tier in the second quarter, they reported that in the third quarter, 86% of homes with access to the platform are on its ad tier.
This increase in ad-tier subscriptions could be attributed to the ongoing cost of living crisis in the U.K. Despite streamers raising their monthly fees across all tiers, the number of households subscribing to at least two services has decreased to below 14 million homes.
Among the most popular paid-for streaming platforms, Netflix, Apple TV+, and U.K.-only Now have shown marginal growth in the U.K. in Quarter 3. Netflix grew by 0.4%, Apple TV+ by 0.3%, and Now by 0.2%. In comparison, Prime Video and Disney+ saw a decrease of 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively.
Access to Paramount+ and Discovery+ remained steady in the third quarter, at 9.7% and 11.1% of homes, respectively. Overall, 20.1 million U.K. homes had access to at least one SVOD service in Q3, a slight increase from the previous quarter.
Doug Whelpdale, head of insight at Barb, noted that after strong growth in previous quarters, the growth in homes accessing subscription VOD services has slowed. Despite this, the overall number of homes with access to at least one SVOD service remains above 20 million. Whelpdale suggests that viewers are cautious due to economic turbulence.
To continue revenue growth, streaming services are exploring other avenues. While Amazon remains the largest ad-tier service, Netflix and Disney+ are seeing significant growth in their ad tiers. With the holiday season approaching, the number of homes subscribing to ad tiers for Netflix and Disney+ is expected to increase further.