Ad-supported streaming revenue is set to exceed $45 billion in North America in 2026, offering an increasingly clear picture of how the economics of streaming are changing worldwide.

 

That $45 billion figure is one of the most striking findings from new research just out. According to industry analysts, revenues generated by ad-supported streaming tiers are expected to represent 54% of total subscription streaming revenues in North America by the end of 2026. 

 

Advertising revenue alone is projected to exceed $18 billion, representing more than one-fifth of total subscription OTT revenue in the region for the first time.

 

Those numbers are significant not just because of their sheer size, but because of what they may tell us about where streaming is headed next. North America is the world’s most mature streaming market, and analysts believe its increasing reliance on advertising offers an indication of what could happen elsewhere.

 

The region currently accounts for nearly 60% of global ad-supported subscription OTT revenue, aided by higher subscription average revenue per user, stronger advertising rates, a mature connected-TV advertising ecosystem, and widespread consumer acceptance of advertising within streaming services.

Advertising is very much a key component of streaming economics

The underlying consumer proposition is fairly straightforward: viewers still want access to the movies, television programs, sports and other premium content they enjoy, but many are looking for ways to reduce what they pay for it. Essentially, that makes lower-priced, ad-supported subscription tiers just plain attractive. 

Rather than canceling a service altogether, consumers can accept advertising in exchange for a lower monthly bill. For streaming providers, that creates an opportunity to retain price-conscious subscribers while simultaneously generating advertising revenue from their viewing. 

Different streaming providers have approached this transition differently. Some have made advertising a more prominent part of the standard viewing experience, while others have encouraged subscribers to select less expensive ad-supported plans. 

Either way, the direction is similar: advertising is becoming a core component of streaming economics rather than simply an alternative business model.

There is evidence well beyond these recent findings that advertisers are following viewers in this direction. 

IAB recently projected that U.S. digital video advertising spending will surpass $80 billion in 2026, increasing 11% year over year and growing nearly 20% faster than the overall advertising market. Digital video is also expected to represent more than 60% of total TV and video advertising spending for the first time.

Subscription and ad revenues bring parallel importance

As advertising becomes more important to streaming economics, protecting that revenue becomes equally important. 

Although the last three years have seen an increase in the cost of monthly subscriptions (a $1.86 increase in the UK and a $1.70 increase in the United States), research simultaneously indicates that the size of each bump is getting smaller amid indicators showing that viewers are seemingly reaching their limit in regard to their willingness to fork out additional cash each month.

With that in mind, it’s underscored that piracy doesn’t only threaten subscription revenue or the value of premium content. When viewers are diverted to unauthorized streams because they simply won’t pay any more, legitimate platforms can lose the impressions, engagement, and audience measurement that make their advertising inventory valuable. 

At a time when operators are increasingly depending on a combination of subscription and advertising revenue, proactive anti-piracy protections can therefore play an important role in protecting the entire monetization model.

The shift also changes what success looks like for streaming operators. 

As an Ampere Analysis researcher observed in the recent report, slower subscriber growth in mature markets is shifting attention toward engagement and habitual viewing. The objective is no longer simply accumulating as many subscribers as possible. Operators increasingly need to maximize the value of the audiences they already have without diminishing the premium experience that attracted those viewers in the first place.

North America may simply be further along that path than other regions

If that’s the case, the growing prominence of ad-supported streaming there represents much more than a regional trend. 

It provides an early look at a streaming marketplace in which subscriptions and advertising increasingly work together, giving consumers more choices at different price points while giving operators additional ways to monetize engagement. 

With ad-supported streaming revenue in North America poised to surpass $45 billion this year, that future is already beginning to take shape.