Most UK consumers are unwilling to pay more than £20 per month for TV streaming services – a problem that will likely cause trouble for the growing number of streaming services available – according to research from The Trade Desk.

The survey of 953 UK adults found that 60 per cent of UK consumers won’t pay more than £20 a month for TV streaming services, with the maximum monthly amount being just £10 for 26 per cent.

Interestingly, this follows research from AudienceProject which found that a number of people would cancel their other TV streaming services when Disney+ arrives in the UK in March 2020 – and, according to The Trade Desk’s research, 90 per cent of Brits currently subscribe to at least one streaming service.

In order to experience the content across multiple streaming services without breaking the bank, 59 per cent of people would be open to there being advertising in exchange for a free subscription, while 47 per cent would be fine with advertising if it gave them content at a cheaper price. However, the timing of these ads is important, with 87 per cent happy to see ads at least sometimes if it meant they could watch a whole show afterwards with no interruption.

“As a nation of boxset lovers and binge-watchers, it’s no surprise that so many Brits have signed up to streaming services – a move that has further bolstered the UK’s position as one of the leading TV industries globally. But while people want to access premium content, there’s a limit to how much they’re willing to spend on it.” said Dave Castell, GM of inventory and partnerships at The Trade Desk. “With numerous new services set to enter an already-saturated market over the coming months, I believe that the ad-free subscription model currently favoured by many of the big players simply won’t generate the capital needed to create the content viewers crave.”

“Combined with increasing pressure over rights to popular back-catalogues of shows, advertising is likely the only viable option for streaming services to raise revenue for funding new premium content. I think consumers are clearly turned off by traditional methods of serving ads, so companies must be creative and innovative in how they incorporate advertising into the digital viewing experience. That means new approaches to relevance and timing which improve the consumer experience and increase advertising value, which will help fund the amazing premium content we all enjoy.”