Five years ago, the idea of major global streaming services embracing ad-supported plans was viewed as highly unlikely.
But, as Digital i’s latest research shows, advertising has become an integral part of SVOD strategy – and consumers are increasingly receptive.
Data in our recently published APAC-focused trend report, Riding Netflix’s Korean Wave, (which you can read in full HERE), shows that most active Netflix subscribers in Japan and South Korea are now on ad-supported plans.
The shift took place last year, as Netflix grew its share of users on ad-supported tiers in South Korea from 47.6% to 64.3% between December 2024 and December 2025.
In Japan that figure shifted from 44.3% to 57.6%. Australian subscribers are still predominantly on ad-free plans, but there was a significant rise in uptake, from 21.8% to 31.2% in that same period.
In markets like Japan and South Korea, the lower-cost ad-supported tier is no longer a simple budget option but has become the dominant way to consume Netflix content.
This switch does not necessarily imply audiences are losing interest in content but rather comes due to a crowded market, with many subscribers increasingly unwilling to pay premium prices for multiple streaming services.
In mature markets, streamers may increasingly rely on these cheaper ad-supported tiers to maintain growth and to act as a retention tool that prevents churn.
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