Americans ditch doomscrolling for $130 worth of monthly streaming

With streaming platforms now wanting you to pay for content even when they show you ads, consumers keep spending more on subscriptions. They’re not happy, a new survey shows.

The poll, commissioned by Tubi, a streaming service, found that American consumers are spending significantly more money on streaming subscriptions than the year before – $129 combined in a month on average. That’s a 7.5% increase.

Indeed, Americans are avid streamers. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they stream for three hours or more in one sitting, and viewers are juggling nearly seven platforms. In fact, they spend more on streaming than on clothes ($109) each month.

That’s probably why 56% also said they monitor their use of streaming services carefully to avoid overspending. Gen Z viewers seem particularly cost-conscious, as 76% of them said they have or would cancel their membership if the price increased.

The findings can seem a little weird because most larger streamers began offering cheaper ad-supported plans. Shouldn’t the combined monthly sum people spend on streaming be lower?

Well, it turns out viewers don’t really like ads – or, rather, the fact that on most platforms, they still have to play even though ads interrupt their shows a few times. That’s why consumers decide to pay up and escape ads altogether.

Forty-six percent of respondents said that ads significantly disrupt their streaming experience, and 79% said: “If I’m paying for a streaming service, I expect no ads at all.”

Plus, ads sort of return the viewer to everyday struggles. This is offputting for many, with the survey finding that most people turn to streaming as a form of escapism. Eighty percent of viewers said they’d rather spend their time watching something than doomscrolling through social media.

Among the various forms of escapism at our fingertips today, consumers are most likely to reach for streaming when they need a mental break (59%) – followed by listening to music (50%) and scrolling social media (38%).

Many, especially Gen Z viewers, also use streaming as background for other daily tasks, including work, by the way. Eighty-four percent of employed Gen Z viewers say they watch TV or movies while working, and 48% say they’ve lied to co-workers or bosses about it.

What’s more, half of Gen Z (53%) say they have put off working because they had to finish a show they were binge-watching, and 52% say they don’t want to return to the office because they’ll miss streaming during the workday.