Disney+ is set to launch a less-expensive ad-supported subscription plan on Dec. 8. The move is expected to result in 30% of its 44.5 million North American SVOD subscribers dropping the ad-free service for the ad-supported option, according to projections from TiVo’s latest video trends report. The findings come from a second-quarter survey of more than 4,500 adult respondents across the U.S. and Canada.
TiVo found that the average survey respondent had 9.86 video services, including 6.7 paid services and 3.1 non-paid services. That’s up from 8.88 combined video platforms in Q4 2021. As the tally approaches double digits, the share of AVOD services has gone up. In 2022, non-paid services accounted for about 32% of the overall share, compared with 26% in 2021.
The Roku Channel topped all AVOD/FAST services on the market with 21.5% use among survey respondents. That beat Tubi at 19.7%, Peacock (19.4%), Pluto TV (17.1%), Crackle (11.2%), Samsung TV Plus (11.1%), Crunchyroll (7.2%) and Amazon Freevee (6.9%), among others.
TiVo found 61% respondents “actively” watch at least one AVOD/FAST service, and 80% wish their paid services offered a free ad-supported option. At the same time, churn among AVOD services remains high. With zero fiscal skin in the game, AVOD users only spend three months actively watching a new service until moving on to a new option; pay-TV subscribers admit to “hopping” between AVOD services at more than twice the rate of broadband-only respondents.
Indeed, 69.3% of respondents said they view AVOD/FAST services because they are free to use and require no registration. Another 25% who use AVOD/FAST services do so because they’re simply not willing to pay for the content that these services offer.
Separately, Amazon Prime Video remains the top platform to rent or buy digital movies, according to 31% of respondents. No. 2 was Disney+ Premier Access at 13.7%, followed by YouTube Movies & Shows (12.1%), Apple TV Store/iTunes (9.3%), Google Play Movies & TV (8%, which was down from 10%), Redbox Online (5.5%), and Vudu (4.7%), among others.
Notably, Disney+ surpassed YouTube for the first time in the TiVo report.