No, you’re not imagining it: Streaming services are now pushing more ads than ever
No, you’re not imagining things — streaming services are now actually showing you more ads than they used to earlier in the year. With ads in streaming, what started out as a free-to-watch model fro…
Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
No, you’re not imagining things — streaming services are now actually showing you more ads than they used to earlier in the year.
With ads in streaming, what started out as a free-to-watch model from Hulu has since transitioned into a cheaper alternative offered by almost every major streaming service. Netflix launched its first ad-supported tier in late 2022, and other services like Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max, Paramount+, and more were quick to follow. Out of all those, only one platform currently shows fewer ads than it used to earlier in the year.
The revelation comes from an Ampere Analysis report shared by Business Insider , which indicates that ad loads across the top streaming services in the US increased by 18% on average between January and August 2026. This isn’t what users signed up for, but alas, here we are, with most services trying to squeeze more value out of existing subscribers.
The horizontal bar chart above highlights the average number of ad minutes users encountered per hour on several streaming services in January 2026 and August 2026. Paramount+ leads the bunch with 9.01 minutes of ads per hour now. The same service showed 7.87 minutes of ads per hour back in January. This means that in an hour of Paramount+ viewing, you’re spending roughly 15% of your time watching ads.
Netflix, on the other hand, recorded the biggest percentage increase of the group. The service went from showing 1.40 ad minutes per hour in January to 2.44 ad minutes per hour now. That’s a 74% increase, all while maintaining the lowest overall ad load of all major streaming services.
Amazon’s Prime Video was the sole exception. The service went down to 2.60 ad minutes per hour in August, compared to 2.78 ad minutes per hour in January.
This comes on top of every major streaming service hiking subscription prices recently. Disney+ , HBO Max , and Peacock all raised prices last year. Netflix hiked pricing in March this year, while Apple TV hiked prices in August. Note that Apple TV does not have an ad-supported tier, which, honestly, is a surprising omission in the great 2026. According to Brandon Katz, an analyst at Greenlight Analytics, “once you reach scale, ad-supported tiers are more lucrative than ad-free tiers.”
Read Full Story at Android Authority →
