Consumers are okay with more ads if they don’t have to pay

Beyond the chart:

• Consumers want free content in exchange for ads on websites and apps, which bodes well for ad-supported platforms and services.
• While this chart refers specifically to websites and apps, advertisers may see similar preferences from streaming as viewers get more comfortable with ads on subscription platforms.
• Programmatic digital display ad spend will reach $157.35 billion in 2024, a 15.9% increase YoY, according to our December 2023 forecast.

Use this chart:

• Demonstrate consumers’ comfort with ads.
• Evaluate consumer opinion of ad-free subscription tiers.

More like this:

• Programmatic ad spend has gotten more diverse and mobile-dominated
• 5 recent charts forecasting how ad spend is changing, from retail media to programmatic
• Programmatic digital display ad spend will grow three times as fast as nonprogrammatic in 2024
• Display advertising in 5 charts: From programmatic to retail media

Note: Respondents were asked, "If you had the choice, how would you prefer to access websites, apps and online services?"

Methodology: Data is from the January 2024 Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) report titled "The Free and Open Ad-Supported Internet: Consumers, Content, and Assessing the Data Value Exchange." Over 1,500 US consumers ages 18-64 were surveyed during July-November 2023. Generational respondents were broken out into Gen Z (19% 1997-2005), Millennials (34% 1981-1996), Gen X (35% 1965-1980) and Boomers (12% 1959-1964).