Streaming services make money via paid user subscriptions, and in some cases, allow advertisers on their platforms. Here is a closer look at the two ways streaming services earn money:
Paid user subscriptions
Many streaming services use a paid subscription business model. This means that customers pay a monthly or annual rate for access to the streaming services library of video content.
Many streaming services also have multiple plans to choose from, some cheaper plans include advertising and commercial breaks during or prior to content, while more expensive plans usually offer ad-free access. Here are some examples of streaming services that offer these types of plans:
Netflix
Hulu
Disney+
Amazon Prime Video
Paramount Plus
HBO Max
Some of these streaming services and others only offer a paid option without advertisem*nts, while others offer both non-advertisem*nt subscriptions, and subscriptions that include ads and commercials.
Advertising on streaming platforms
As was just mentioned, some streaming services utilize advertising to generate revenue on their platforms. This includes commercials that might play during video content or before and after video content.
There are even some streaming services that solely rely on this business model for profits, meaning they don't charge subscriptions for users or fees for downloading their applications. Some examples of streaming companies that don't charge subscriptions or fees to download their app, and make money purely from advertising include:
Freevee
Pluto TV
Tubi
Crunchyroll
The Roku Channel
Peaco*ck ( a small portion of their library is free)
Kanopy
ViX
Plex
