• by Wayne Friedman , March 20, 2025

Average streaming TV platform advertising time per hour -- including limited-ad-tier premium streamers as well as FAST networks -- now is around 9 minutes per hour, according to Wurl, an AI-based streaming TV technology company.

The company says this has remained fairly steady over the last 12-month period. By comparison, the linear TV advertising load can be 15-17 minutes per hour.

“Even though demand has been increasing for CTV, publishers haven’t been increasing their ad load,” say the authors of the report. “This is a sign that supply is still outpacing demand in CTV.”

Other reports vary in terms of the ad load of specific premium services. Netflix and Peacock each have around 4 to 5 minutes per hour, while for Prime Video it is 2 to 4 minutes and for Paramount+, 10 or more minutes.

FAST (free advertising supported streaming TV) channels such as Tubi have an ad load of 4 to 6 minutes, and Pluto TV has around 10 minutes.

In addition, the authors says the rise of CTV inventory starting last year -- primarily due to the launch of Prime Video ad-tier, according to analysts -- has led to a decrease in advertising “fill rates.”

“Demand has not kept place with the proliferation of supply... There’s a ton of channels and ad opportunities, but advertisers are still lagging behind.”

Only October 2024 went against the trend --partly due to the advertising activity around the Presidential election.