Total revenues from streaming (including advertising revenue from hybrid streaming subscription tiers) will overtake revenues from pay-TV subscriptions in the United States for the first time in Q3 2024, according to research from Ampere Analysis.
The inflection point will be driven by increased revenue from advertising and a boost in subscriber growth, said Ampere.
The company predicts streaming advertising revenues will pass $9 billion in the US this year. “The introduction of cheaper ad tiers has been successful not only in increasing new subscriber growth in previously saturated markets but also in acting as an additional revenue source for streaming services,” said Ampere.
Rory Gooderick, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis said: “Most major streaming services in the US have launched their hybrid advertising tiers, which, along with increasing clamp-downs on password sharing, have been successful at reigniting growth in the streaming market.
“There is still a way forward for pay-TV, however. Disney and Charter’s recent deal in the US, which gave almost 15 million Charter subscribers access to Disney+’s advertising tier, shows how the two businesses can work together to maximise streaming’s reach to domestic subscribers, and highlights the importance of traditional distribution platforms as service aggregators. Longer term contracts and the reduction in churn makes this an attractive proposition for streamers, while control over the billing relationship also means there’s something in it for the pay-TV provider too,” added Gooderick.
