Megan Ellis / Android Authority
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TL;DR
- Major US streaming services increased their average ad loads by 18% between January and August 2026.
- Netflix recorded a 74% increase but still shows the fewest ads, while Paramount+ leads with over nine minutes per hour.
- Prime Video was the only major streaming service to reduce its ad load during the period.
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.
Note: Chart shows average for users on advertising-supported tiers
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.”
Which type of streaming plan do you currently use?
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That explains why services are pushing their ad-supported tiers so aggressively. Even though these plans bring in less money out of the gate, they make up for the difference and potentially bring in even more via ads. They’re also the best plans for bringing in new, price-conscious customers.
For users, however, the trade-off is becoming harder to accept. For a service like Netflix that still shows roughly 2.5 minutes of ads per hour, the interruptions feel very manageable. Services like Paramount+, which show more than nine minutes of ads per hour, on the other hand, could be encroaching on the line between a reasonable compromise and an experience that doesn’t justify the monetary savings.
How are you finding that balance? Are you still on ad-supported tiers, or are you willing to pay more for streaming without interruptions? Let us know in the poll above.
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