Ad-funded streaming services adoption surges across generations, report

The weekly reach of ad-funded Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVoD) services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime has almost tripled in the UK over the past year, according to the IPA’s Making sense: The commercial media landscape 2025 report.

The study shows that ad-funded SVoD services now reach 30 percent of UK adults each week, compared to 11 percent in 2024 and 10 percent in 2023. The increase follows changes in the market, including Netflix raising the price of its ad-free tier and Amazon Prime automatically enrolling existing customers into its ad-funded tier in early 2024.

Younger audiences drive SVoD growth

Generational breakdown reveals strong adoption across all age groups. Ad-funded SVoD services now reach 36 percent of both 16-34s and 35-54s, and 21 percent of those over 55. These figures are significantly higher than 2024 levels, when the reach stood at 12, 13 and 9 percent respectively.

Netflix leads among ad-funded platforms with a 16 percent weekly reach, followed by Amazon Prime at 15 percent and Disney+ at 7 percent.

Simon Frazier, report author and Head, TouchPoints Marketing & Data Innovation: "It is without question that advertisers are having to navigate an increasingly decentralised media ecosystem, and so being able to pinpoint where the greatest commercial opportunities lie is invaluable. The findings from this year’s Making sense report are particularly interesting when looking at the growth of ad-funded SVoD. We’ve been tracking this since Netflix first introduced their advertising-funded tier in the UK in 2023, and after some incremental growth in 2024 we have seen a major change this year with the weekly reach rising considerably."

Commercial media habits shifting across platforms

The IPA report also highlights wider changes in media consumption. UK adults now spend nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of their commercial media time on digital channels, compared with 42 percent in 2015. For the first time, adults are spending more time viewing curated commercial media on smartphones (35 percent) than on TV sets (34 percent).

Generational differences remain strong: 16-34s spend half of their viewing time on smartphones, compared with 22 percent on TV sets. Among over 55s, the TV set still dominates at 46 percent, though down from 50 percent in 2024.

Social media matches TV in weekly reach

The weekly reach of commercial live and recorded TV has declined to 73 percent in 2025, a drop of 23 percent since 2015. Social media has risen to match that figure, placing both channels behind out-of-home advertising (95 percent) and functional internet use (85 percent).

The top five commercial media properties by weekly reach among all adults in 2025 are Facebook (52 percent), YouTube (45 percent), ITV/STV (44 percent), Channel 4 (39 percent) and Instagram (39 percent). YouTube leads among 16-34s with 66 percent reach, Facebook among 35-54s at 63 percent, and ITV/STV among over 55s at 63 percent.

Generational correlation declines

The correlation of weekly reach across curated commercial media between 16-34s and over 55s has fallen to 52 percent, down from 60 percent in 2024, though still above the 44 percent recorded in 2015. In contrast, the correlation in time spent across channels has increased to 22 percent, the highest since 2020.

The 2025 edition of Making sense is accompanied by perspectives from Talon, Meta, Code For Good Now, Global Media & Entertainment, Initiative, Republic of Media and the7stars.

The full report can be accessed here

www.ipa.co.uk

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