Streamer ad-tiers have taken off in the US, with the number of paid ad-tier subscriptions eclipsing 225 million through Q1 2025. All of those subscribers amount to a vast number of ad views—but the timing and placement of those ads reveal that not all streamers are approaching advertising in the same way.
Ampere’s new "Analytics – Advertising US data" unveils a distinct difference between services, not only in terms of how many ads are shown, but also when during episodes they appear. Currently, legacy media companies tend to treat advertising for on-demand streaming content similarly to how they have traditionally approached broadcast TV, with ad loads peaking at specific points within an episode. Meanwhile, other players—especially the tech-led streamers—are establishing a completely different model.
To better understand these differences, Ampere categorizes streaming platforms into three main types, based on company background and operational approach. Studio-led streamers are part of larger media conglomerates and typically follow traditional advertising strategies inherited from decades of broadcast TV. Tech-led streamers, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, are subscription-based services without an established media-advertising legacy, having operated ad-free for much of their history. Finally, free platforms, like Pluto and Tubi, are ad-supported services often associated with the studio-led streamers, but they apply their own distinct approach to monetization.
On traditional broadcast and cable TV, ad breaks are typically placed during the rising action of a program—when viewer engagement is high and there’s a strong incentive to stay tuned through the break. This trend also appears in studio-led streaming services, which tend to insert more ads overall and concentrate them within the 11–20 minute and 31–45 minute marks of an episode. These windows align with ad break patterns seen in standard half-hour or hour-long television programming, reinforcing a familiar viewing experience for audiences used to linear TV.
By contrast, tech-led and free streaming platforms take a different path. Both tend to reduce the number of ads as an episode progresses. Although free platforms have always operated with ad-supported models, tech-led services only recently introduced ads—Amazon Prime Video, for example, rolled out ads for all users in Q1 2024, with an option to pay extra for an ad-free experience. Despite their differing origins, both types now display similar behavior in how they distribute ad breaks within content.
For tech-led platforms like Netflix, the focus is on enhancing user experience rather than replicating legacy TV practices. These services often "front-load" ads at the beginning of an episode—capitalizing on a viewer's initial commitment to watch—while reducing ad interruptions toward the end, thereby encouraging seamless transitions to the next episode. The strategy prioritizes engagement and bingeability, rather than maximizing advertiser impact at dramatic moments.
In the case of free platforms like Pluto and Tubi, advertising revenue does not rely exclusively on their on-demand content libraries. These platforms also feature a wide range of Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) channels that operate in a linear format and carry regular ad loads. As a result, the ad experience on their on-demand offerings is typically lighter than on studio-led services and more aligned with the viewer-first, tech-led philosophy.