One in three Americans are cutting household costs to hang on to their streaming subscriptions
Consumers trim household costs elsewhere to keep spending on must-have streaming services, including most favored: Netflix
CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, Nov. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A third of U.S. streamers (34%) say they have cut back on other household expenses specifically to keep paying for their streaming subscriptions. That’s according to a newly released “Streaming Squeeze” research report from Bango (AIM:BGO), examining how streaming fans are coping with rising costs.
As inflation continues to squeeze household budgets, nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans with streaming subscriptions say they can’t afford all the services they want, while more than half (55%) admit their streaming bills are higher than they’d like.
As a result, many now rotate, move up and down ad tiers, or bundle subscriptions, doing whatever it takes to stay subscribed and keep their favorite streaming services.
Ad tiers: choice wins, but the tension is real
The majority of consumers (69%) say paid subscriptions should never show ads, yet 60% say they would accept even more ads on their streaming, in exchange for a bigger discount. According to Bango’s report, this shows a clash between what people want and what they’re willing to pay for.
In practice, ad tiering is helping to expand the market in both directions: when cheaper ad-supported plans launch, 42% downgrade onto them and 39% upgrade to avoid them.
The net effect is more people participating at a price they can manage, and more subscribers staying “in the ecosystem”, continuing to spend on streaming rather than canceling outright.
Younger subscribers are even more likely to use tiers as a “safety valve”. For example, half of Gen Z (47%) report starting a subscription when an ad-supported option became available, compared with only a quarter of Boomers.
The ‘forever’ effect: protected subscriptions at the center
Even as budgets tighten, consumers keep spending on at least one “Forever Subscription” they say they’ll never cancel. Netflix dominates that leaderboard (60%), followed by Prime Video (31%) and Hulu (24%).
Looking at different age brackets, Netflix also secures cross-generational appeal, which highlights its universal pull. In contrast, Prime skews older, with 45% of Boomers considering it a Forever Subscription — more than any other generation. At the other end of the scale, Disney+ resonates with younger audiences (28% of Gen Z treat it as a Forever Subscription).
Bundling: buying more for less
More than two-thirds of subscribers (68%) have taken an indirect subscription - buying via a bundle or third-party channel. These bundled buyers report meaningful monthly savings, and typically hold more subscriptions overall — because when costs come down and admin gets simpler, subscribers keep more of what they love.
Among streaming subscribers who report savings, the average monthly saving is $16.32, with roughly half saying they save $15–$24 or more each month. Given these benefits, 22% of streaming subscribers have switched to a bundle deal in the past six months — where services are offered indirectly through a telecom or TV provider, included as a perk with other services, or bundled together via a platform like Amazon Prime. This momentum is even stronger among younger adults, with a third (32%) of Gen Z signing up for bundles in the same time period.
Subscribers keep spending
Commenting on the new study, Paul Larbey, CEO at Bango, said, “Subscribers refuse to give up on streaming — they just keep spending. But they’re re-balancing that spend to protect the streamers they love the most. They'll cut back elsewhere, tolerate ads if the deal’s right, and move up or down tiers when new options land. But a key point is that for most people, Netflix is a non-negotiable ‘Forever Subscription’.
“For SVOD teams looking to grow their subscriber base in this market, the brief isn’t ‘add more content’, it’s ‘productize choice’. Offer clear ad tiering options to keep subscribers paying, and make upgrade/downgrade as easy as play/pause. Treat ‘forever’ as a distribution strategy by bundling alongside the brands people never cancel.”
To find out more about today’s streaming and subscription habits, download Bango’s full Streaming Squeeze report .
About Bango
Bango enables content providers to reach more paying customers through global partnerships. Bango revolutionized the monetization of digital content and services, by opening-up online payments to mobile phone users worldwide. Today, the Digital Vending Machine® is driving the rapid growth of the subscription economy, powering choice and control for subscribers.
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