Streaming ad loads haven’t changed much lately. Over the past two years, ad loads for FAST services have barely risen, according to Wurl Analytics. To a viewer accustomed to watching Netflix without ads, 9 minutes of ads per hour may seem like a lot. But that’s still much lower than linear TV, which has about 15 minutes of ads per hour.

But each service’s ad tier produces a much different user experience. Netflix and Max maintain the lightest ad loads, according to MediaRadar. (To limit churn, Netflix reduces its ad load for subscribers who have previously canceled, AdExchanger reported.) The higher ad loads on Paramount+ and Hulu are closer to FAST ad loads than they are to other subscription streaming services’ ad loads.

Amazon plans to increase ad loads on Prime Video, which currently includes just a few minutes of ads per hour. During its Q3 2024 earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery indicated that Max’s light ad loads will likely increase as well.

Meanwhile, fill rates have fallen. The share of FAST ad impressions that went unsold rose 18% YoY in Q1 2024, according to Wurl. More ad spaces are going unsold because streaming services are struggling to sell inventory as supply steadily increases. Fill rates generally increase later in the year as ad spending ramps up. But Wurl reported that fill rates were down through H1 2024 compared with previous years.

Read the full report, Digital Video Forecast and Trends Q4 2024.