In today's media landscape, most consumers don't differentiate between programming viewed on broadcast, cable, ADS-delivered, and online or mobile channels. It's all considered "TV viewing" and the positives, opportunities and challenges apply to "video" across the board:
- TV set penetration in U.S. households is high
- According to Nielsen, there are 125MM TV homes in the U.S. for the 2023-2024 TV season.
(Source: Nielsen, National Television Household Universe Estimates)
- Adults 18+ spend 5 hours and 37 minutes watching TV (broadcast/cable).
(Source: Gfk TVB Media Comparisons Study 2024)
- 56 Millions (46%) of U.S. internet households are "cord cutters", while 12% are "cord nevers", who have never subscribed to any sort of traditional pay TV.
(Source: TVTech, Video Services Consumer Insight Dashboard, 2025)
- As of Q3 2024, 59% of subscriptions across the eight leading SVOD services are basic tier with ad subscriptions.
(Source: TVTech, Video Services Consumer Insight Dashboard, 2025)
- 71% of Black adults 18+ consider television to be very trustworthy/trustworthy.
(Source: Katz Media Group 2024 Media Trust Study)
- 60% of adults have gone on the internet to get more information on a product or service after seeing an ad on TV.
(Source: Gfk TVB Media Comparisons Study 2024)
- Broadcast and cable TV reaches 81% of adults 18+.
(Source: Gfk TVB Media Comparisons Study 2024)
- 41% of adults stream TV programs/movies without ads on TV screens/digital devices.
(Source: Gfk TVB Media Comparisons Study 2024)
- 73% of adults agree that they trust the news they see/hear on local broadcast TV.
(Source: Gfk TVB Media Comparisons Study 2024)
- 69% of U.S. TV viewers have used free streaming services at least monthly.
(Source: Horowitz Research’s State of Media, Entertainment & Tech: Subscriptions study, 2023 Edition)
- 88% of adults have at least one streaming subscription.
(Source: Disqo Report, Ad-Supported Streaming TV, 2023)
- 216 Million (75%) of People 12+ own a Smart TV.
(Source: The Infinite Dial 2025 - Edison Research/Audacy/Cumulus Media/SiriusXM Media)
- 52% of content viewers now report subscribing to pay TV services.
(Source: Horowitz Research’s State of Media, Entertainment & Tech: Subscriptions study, 2023 Edition)
- 32% of subscribers also said that they might consider going back to cable if the cost of their streaming services increases.
(Source: Horowitz Research’s State of Media, Entertainment & Tech: Subscriptions study, 2023 Edition)
- As of January 2023, 85% of households had at least one TV-connected device.
(Source: Nielsen National TV Panel, 2023)
- As of January 2023, 36% of U.S. TV Households accessed their TV content solely through a broadband internet connection.
(Source: Nielsen National TV Panel via NPOWER, 2023)
- 60% of adults prefer watching TV on either Cable TV or Satellite TV.
(Source: Epsilon, Data Trends Report, 2024)
- 79% of adults watch TV shows, movies, sports, and news through their television screen.
(Source: Epsilon, Data Trends Report, 2024)
- 39% of adults prefer watching TV on a streaming service.
(Source: Epsilon, Data Trends Report, 2024)
- 34% of consumers have made a purchase based on a TV ad.
(Source: Valassis consumer survey conducted February 2021)
- 67% of U.S. Adults ages 18-49 watch both linear TV and ad-supported streaming.
(Source: "Addressable Enters the mainstream" DirectTV Advertising via Advertiser Perceptions, January 2023)
- 15% of U.S. Adults ages 18-49 watch ONLY ad-supported streaming.
(Source: "Addressable Enters the mainstream" DirectTV Advertising via Advertiser Perceptions, January 2023)
- 90% of CTV buyers purchased linear TV in 2022.
(Source: "Addressable Enters the mainstream" DirectTV Advertising via Advertiser Perceptions, January 2023)
- 36% of of CTV buyers say linear TV is more important than CTV.
(Source: "Addressable Enters the mainstream" DirectTV Advertising via Advertiser Perceptions, January 2023)
- 94% of linear TV and OTT ads reached only half of U.S. households, up two percent from 2023
(Source: SambaTV 2024 State of Viewership)
- 33% of U.S. streamers watch free ad-supported streaming television (FAST).
(Source: EMarketer Forecast, February 2024)
- According to Pixalate, 98% of U.S. internet-connected households can be reached by CTV advertising.
(Source: Pixalate, CTV Ad Supply Trends Report - Q3 2024)
- Time Shifted TV reaches 61% of persons ages 18-49 weekly in 2023.
(Source: Nielsen Total Audience Report, Q2 2018, Q2 2019, Q2 2020, Q2 2021, Q2 2022, Q2 2023)
- 6.9% of daily audio time among those age 13+ in the U.S. is spent listening on an internet-connected TV or TV device.
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear," 2016 - Q3 2023)
- 72% of consumers agree that the members of their household use streaming as a form of quality time.
(Source: Tubi, The Stream 2025)
- 80% of viewers say they'd rather spend their time watching a TV show or movie than scrolling on social media.
(Source: Tubi, The Stream 2025)
- 44% of viewers say that they watch TV shows & movies intentionally, with no distraction.
(Source: Tubi, The Stream 2025)
- 57% of viewers say they stream 1-3 hours of TV and movies in one sitting.
(Source: Tubi, The Stream 2025)
- 82% of Gen Zers say they browse streaming services to discover older content.
(Source: Tubi, The Stream 2025)
- 76% of Gen Z viewers already have or would eventually end their streaming subscription over increased prices.
(Source: Tubi, The Stream 2025)
- 79% of consumers say that if they are paying for a streaming service, they expect no ads.
(Source: Tubi, The Stream 2025)
- Percentage of adults who say they have an antenna and use it often:
- Ages 18-24 - 18%
- Ages 25-44 - 18%
- Ages 45-54 - 23%
- Ages 55+ - 13%
(Source: CivicScience, 2024)
- TV time spent amongst new moms:
- Streaming - 65%
- Cable - 13%
- Broadcast - 8%
- Other - 14%
(Source: Nielsen National TV Ratings plus Streaming Platform Ratings, Q1 2024)
- TV viewership by genre amongst adults 18+:
- Feature film - 15%
- General drama - 24%
- Child multi-weekly - 3%
- Situation comedy - 8%
- Sports events - 7%
- General documentary - 8%
- Evening animation - 2%
- Instruction, advice - 3%
- News - 13%
(Source: Nielsen National TV Ratings plus Streaming Content Ratings, Q1 2024)
- Gen Z viewers agree with the following:
- Most ads miss the mark - 81%
- The ads they see on streaming seem misaligned with their personal preferences - 73%
- Ads significantly abrupt their streaming experience - 46%
(Source: Tubi, The Stream 2025)
- 60% of Gen Zers believe that CTV has better quality ads than cable/satellite.
- 56% of Millennials believe the same
(Source: Magna Media Trials and Samsung Ads, Capturing the Attention of our Youngest Generations, The Digital Advertisers’ Guide to Reaching Gen Z + Millennials on Connected TV, 2023)
- 61% of Gen Zers believe that CTV has ads that are more relevant to them than cable/satellite.
- 67% of Millennials believe the same.
(Source: Magna Media Trials and Samsung Ads, Capturing the Attention of our Youngest Generations, The Digital Advertisers’ Guide to Reaching Gen Z + Millennials on Connected TV, 2023)
- U.S. TV and Connected TV (CTV) ad spending in 2024 (Billions):
- U.S. TV - $61.74B
- CTV - $28.75B
(Source: eMarketer, July 2024)
- U.S. Digital Video Viewers by platform, in 2024 (in Millions):
- OTT Video Service - 254.2M
- YouTube - 241.8M
- Subscription OTT Video Service - 226.4M
- Ad-supported Video-on demand - 180.2M
- Free ad-suported streaming TV - 111.5M
- Digital Pay TV - 46M
(Source: eMarketer, February 2024)
- Distribution of total television and video usage in the U.S. in March 2024:
- Streaming - 39%
- Cable - 28%
- Broadcast - 23%
- Other - 11%
(Source: Nielsen, The Gauge, March 2024)
- U.S. CTV Revenues by Company (Billions):
- Hulu - $3.63B
- YouTube - $2.89B
- Roku - $2.19B
- PlutoTV - $.95B
- Peacock - $.81B
- Tubi - $.77B
- Disney+ - $.75B
- Netflix - $.62B
- Paramount - $.28B
(Source: Insider Inteligence, April 2023, eMarketer, Guggenheim Securities)
- Top 5 most used paid video streaming services:
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime Video
- HBO Max
- Hulu
- YouTube TV
(Source: Forbes Home Survey, March 2023)
U.S. adults are spending a lot of time consuming video in some form or fashion.
- In Q4 2022 A18+ weekly hours spent with media:
- AM/FM Radio: 11.5 Hours
- App/Web on Smartphone: 1 Hours
- Live + Time-shifted TV: 28.4 Hours
- App/Web on Tablet: 8.7 Hours
- TV-Connected Devices: 15.5 Hours
- Internet on a PC: 7.4 Hours
(Source: The Nielsen Audience Insights Q4 2022, among users P18+)
- Daily time spent on TV amongst U.S. adults 18+ in Q4 2022:
- TV-Connected devices - 106 minutes
- Cable - 104 minutes
- Broadcast - 84 minutes
(Source: Nielsen National TV Panel, 2023)
- Where Asian American audiences spend most of their TV time:
- Streaming - 43%
- Cable - 23%
- Broadcast - 19%
- Other - 16%
(Source: Analysis of January 2023 Nielsen National TV Panel Data augmented by Streaming Platform ratings)
- Asian American audiences watch 27% more streaming content than the general opoulation.
(Source: Analysis of January 2023 Nielsen National TV Panel Data augmented by Streaming Platform ratings)
Total time spent on Live & Time-shifted TV amongst Hispanics (Hours:Minutes), by age:
- Ages 18-34 - 3:29
- Ages 35-49 - 8:28
- Ages 50-64 - 33:08
- Ages 65+ - 31:58
(Source: Nielsen Audience Measurement Data, Q1 2024)
- 74% of Hispanics say they use one or more streaming services in a day in a typical week.
(Source: Nielsen Attitudes on Representation Supplemental Study, 2022)
- How Hispanic sudiences in the U.S. watch TV across platforms:
- Streaming - 50%
- Broadcast - 20%
- Cable - 14%
- Other - 16%
(Source: Nielsen Audience Measurement Data, June 2024)
- Total time spent on Television amongst Hispanics (Hours:Minutes), by age:
- Ages 18-34 - 16:30
- Ages 35-49 - 23:20
- Ages 50-64 - 33:08
- Ages 65+ - 44:58
(Source: Nielsen Audience Measurement Data, Q1 2024)
- Hispanics who believe that their values are largely shared and reflected in popular TV shows and movies (by generation):
- Gen Z (age 18-36) - 56%
- Millennials (age 27-42) - 63%
- Gen Xers (age 43-58) - 42%
- Boomers (age 59-77) - 29%
- Matures (age 78+) - 23%
(Source: 2023 Hispanic Sentiment Study by We Are All Human and Nielsen, Powered by Toluna)
- Importance of watching TV in their native language:
- 78.8% of Korean respondents say that it is very important/important.
- 70.8% of Chinese respondents say that it is very important/important
- 80.6% of Vietnamese respondents say that it is very important/important.
- 90% of English respondents say that it is very important/important.
(Source: Nielsen, Custom Asian Media Consumption Study, Fall 2022)
- 27% of AANHPI audiences agree that representative content is more engaging when it features a geographic location associated with their identity group(s).
(Source: Nielsen Attitudes on Representation Supplemental Study, 2022)
- 30% of AANHPI audiences agree that representative content is more engaging when it features a cast member that is closely associated with their identity group(s).
(Source: Nielsen Attitudes on Representation Supplemental Study, 2022)
- 56% of Hispanics say they are more likely to continue watching content when it features someone from their identity group.
(Source: Nielsen Attitudes on Representation TV Study, April 2022)
- In 2024, CTV generated 56% of engagement and video impressions.
(Source: Innovid Retail (Ad) Therapy Report, 2024)
- 69% of people were reported using at least one free-ad supported streaming service
(Source: Hub Entertainment, TV Advertising: Fact vs. Fiction, November 2024)
Time spent watching connected TV, by generation:
- Generation Z – 3 hours & 45 minutes
- Millennials – 3 hours and 59 minutes
- Generation X – 4 hours and 3 minutes
- Boomers - 3 hours and 58 minutes
(Source: Reviews.org, July 2024)
Percentage (%) of consumers, by generation, who would agree to a year-long subscription contract to an SVOD service if it offered a discount:
- Gen Z – 57%
- Millennials – 61%
- Gen X – 58%
- Boomers & Matures - 48%
(Source: Deloitte, Digital media trends, 18th edition, March 2024)
Percentage (%) of consumers, by generation, who would cancel their favorite SVOD service if the subscription coast increased by U.S. $5 per month:
- Gen Z – 55%
- Millennials – 45%
- Gen X – 46%
- Boomers & Matures - 48%
(Source: Deloitte, Digital media trends, 18th edition, March 2024)
Percentage (%) of consumers, by generation, who often watch TV shows or movies on streaming video services after hearing about them from creators:
- Gen Z – 59%
- Millennials – 49%
- Gen X – 30%
- Boomers & Matures - 18%
(Source: Deloitte, Digital media trends, 18th edition, March 2024)
Video completion rate by video format:
- Interactive CTV – 91%
- DCO Video – 89%
- Standard Video – 87%
- Interactive Video - 74%
(Source: Innovid Retail (Ad) Therapy Report, 2024)
- Households without cable who primarily use broadband connections to stream will rise from 23.3 million is 2018 to 40.8 million in 2022.
- By 2023, broadband is expected to be in 75% of U.S. households.
(Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence - Kagan media research unit)
Percentage of those who report using FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) by demographic:
- Under age 35 – 40%
- Kids in HH – 36%
- Watch more than 20 hours of TV a week – 50%
- Have 3+ streaming subscriptions - 74%
- Spend at least $100 per month on TV - 29%
(Source: Hub Entertainment Research, TV Advertising: Fact vs. Fiction, November 2024)
How people prefer to receive their channels:
- Small bundle (like ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu, etc.) – 48%
- Packages (Through providers like Comcast, Verizon, etc.) – 26%
- Individual – 26%
(Source: Disqo Report, Ad-Supported Streaming TV, 2023)
Ideal discount for an ad-supported streaming service:
- 51-99% less – 23%
- 26-50% less – 34%
- 11-25% less – 14%
- 0-10% less – 6%
- Free – 14%
(Source: Disqo Report, Ad-Supported Streaming TV, 2023)
How people feel about brands that advertise on streaming platforms:
- Neutral – 41%
- Annoyed – 28%
- Worried – 17%
- Grateful – 13%
- Curious – 9%
- Hopeful – 7%
- Excited – 5%
(Source: Disqo Report, Ad-Supported Streaming TV, 2023)
Type of content watched on specific platforms:
- FAST:
- Movies that were watched on specific platforms - 18%
- Mystery/crime/thriller drama tv shows - 12%
- Comedy TV shows - 10%
- Made-for-TV streaming movies - 8%
- News - 8%
- AVOD:
- Movies that were originally shown in theaters - 17%
- Comedy TV shows - 11%
- Serialized drama TV shows - 10%
- Mystery/crime/thriller drama tv shows - 9%
- Procedural drama TV shows - 9%
- MVPD/VMVPD:
- News - 25%
- Sports - 24%
- Comedy TV shows - 7%
- Procedural drama TV shows - 7%
- Mystery/crime/thriller drama tv shows - 6%
(Source: Hub Entertainment Research, Advertising: Fact vs. Fiction, November 2024)
- % of Population weekly reach (Live + Time Shifted TV):
- A18+: 76%
- Blacks 18+: 79%
- Hispanics 18+: 70%
(Source: Nielsen Audience Insights Q4 2022 (users among population) Hispanics 18+)
- What viewers look for on streaming services:
- Looking for a specific show - 52%
- Nothing specific in mind, will watch whatever - 48%
(Source: Hub Entertainment Research, Conquering Content, October 2024)
- Share of households subscribing to selected video streaming platforms in the U.S.:
- Netflix - 64%
- YouTube - 57%
- Hulu - 41%
- Prime Video - 34%
- Max - 29%
- OEM FAST Apps - 24%
- Peacock - 23%
- Disney+ - 22%
- Paramount+ - 21%
- Tubi - 18%
(Source: Statista, May 2024)
- Video streaming distribution by brand:
- Netflix: 22%
- YouTube: 20%
- Hulu: 11%
- Amazon: 8%
- Disney+: 6%
- Other: 33%
- Streaming video share of time spent by age:
- P2-11: 13%
- P12-17: 5%
- P18-24 6%
- P25-34: 15%
- P35-54: 31%
- P55+: 31%
(Source: The Nielsen Audience Insights April 2022)
- Time spent watching TV, in November 2024:
- Streaming – 42%
- Cable – 25%
- Broadcast – 24%
- Other – 10%
(Source: Nielsen National TV Panel plus Streaming Platform Ratings, November 2024)
- CTV Challenges per advertiser:
- Transparency on where your ads are running – 39%
- Fragmentation/too many providers – 39%
- Difficulty managing ad frequency across publishers/platforms – 37%
- Inconsistent measurement standards – 33%
- Multiple ad buys to attain reach and frequency – 29%
- Reach and scale to target effectively – 29%
- Cost – 28%
- Brand safety concerns – 21%
- Ad frauds – 19%
(Source: Advertiser Perceptions survey for Premion, 2024)
- Reasons for advertisers increasing CTV budget 2024 (audience/targeting related):
- Reaches a highly engaged opt-in audience – 40%
- Precision audience targeting – 38%
- Extended reach for Linear TV campaigns – 36%
- Captures declining TV audiences – 35%
- Provides the benefits of TV with digital capabilities – 35%
- Solution to mobile/desktop privacy changes – 20%
(Source: Advertiser Perceptions survey for Premion, 2024)
- Reasons for advertisers increasing CTV budget 2024 (Performance/pricing related):
- Archives brand awareness & performance marketing goals – 41%
- Affordable TV options for performance driven digital marketers – 33%
- CTV tends to outperform Linear TV – 32%
- Detailed reporting, measuring, and insights – 25%
- Improved and relevance – 25%
- Attribution capabilities – 20%
(Source: Advertiser Perceptions survey for Premion, 2024)
- Top reasons why consumers canceled a streaming video service:
- I wasn't spending enough time with the service to justify the cost – 35%
- I need to cut back on my cost of entertainment – 30%
- The streaming service raised its price – 25%
- There is not enough new content on the service – 24%
- I finished watching a show/movie that I signed up to watch – 22%
- There's another service I wanted to sign up for instead – 21%
- I didn't enjoy the content on the service – 20%
(Source: DIRECTV Advertising via Suzy, Online survey of nationally representative sample of 1k U.S. Adults (18-65), June 23, 2023)
- Top three reasons why consumers would consider resubscribing to streaming video services:
- The service decreased their price or offered a promotion – 50%
- The service adds more new programming that I want to watch – 35%
- The service puts out a new season of the show/sequel to a movie I initially signed up to watch – 26%
(Source: DIRECTV Advertising via Suzy, Online survey of nationally representative sample of 1k U.S. Adults (18-65), June 23, 2023)
- Only 25% of U.S. consumers think they’ll have a cable subscription within a few years:
- 41% are not subscribed or have already cut cable
- 12.5% will cut cable within the next few years
- 11.2% will cut cable within the next 3 months
- 9.9% will cut cable within this year
- Within the year, these specific age groups will plan on unsubscribing to cable:
- 18-34 – 25.9%
- 25-34 – 17.8%
- 35-44 – 18.2%
- 45-54 – 14%
- 55-64 – 18.6%
- 65+ - 9.9%
(Source: Pixability; U.S. Consumer Streaming Habits on YouTube & CTV, 2022)
- 87% percent of households have at least one internet-connected TV device - up from 24% in 2010.
- 66% of all TV households have multiple types of connected TV devices.
- Default device for watching TV:
- SmartTV built-in apps - 33%
- TV: MVPD Set-top box - 26%
- TV: Streaming media player - 20%
(Source: Hub Entertainment Research, Decoding The Default, August 2024)
Adults are cutting the cords for cable as streaming services are becoming increasingly popular.
- Reasons for not subscribing to cable or satellite TV:
- 71% of adults said they can access the content they want to watch online
- 69% of adults said the cost of cable/satellite services is too expensive
- 45% said they do not watch TV often
(Source: Pew Research Center, 2021)
- 82% of consumers subscribe to a paid streaming service
(Source: Deloitte, Digital media trends, 15th edition, 2021)
As of February 2022, there were 817K unique program titles across linear TV and streaming video services.
- 169.4B minutes were spent on streaming.
- Video streaming distribution percent by brand: 22% Netflix, 20% YouTube, 11% Hulu, 8% Amazon, 6% Disney+, and 33% Other.
Top 5 attributes of video streaming sources (ranked by importance):
- Cost – 81%
- Variety/availability of content – 79%
- Ease of use – 79%
- Streaming/playback quality – 76%
- Accessibility/search of desired content – 72%
(Source: Nielsen Audience Insights, April 2022)
Percentage of adults who consider television to be very trustworthy/trustworthy:
- Adults 18-34 – 65%
- Adults 35-54 – 70%
- Adults 55+ – 68%
(Source: Katz Radio Group, Media Trust Study, June 2024)
Ads on streaming video services, based off on engagement:
- Generation Z – 18%
- Millennials – 18%
- Boomers – 14%
- Generation X – 13%
(Source: Deloitte, Digital media trends, 15th edition, 2021)
Ads-supported plan share of new sign-ups for major SVODs, YTD through May 2023:
- Peacock – 69%
- Hulu – 58%
- Discovery+ – 43%
- Disney+ – 36%
- Paramount+ – 31%
- Max – 21%
- Netflix – 18%
(Source: Antenna, June 2023)
Percentage of monthly spending on subscription by age:
- Ages 18-34 – 20%
- Ages 35-54 – 19%
- Ages 55-64 – 11%
(Source: National Research Group, October 2022)
Percentage of U.S. households that do not have a television set by age:
- Ages 18-34 – 14%
- Ages 35-54 – 5%
- Ages 55+ – 3%
(Source: Research Initiatives, Fall 2022)
Top 3 reasons for choosing specific channels:
- Live TV: MVPD & VMVPD & OTA:
- Live - 52%
- Local - 38%
- Ease - 35%
- FASTs:
- Variety - 48%
- Ease - 45%
- Favorite Shows - 35%
(Source: Hub Entertainment Research, Decoding The Default, August 2024)
Share of total TV time:
- Black audience:
- Broadcast - 22%
- Cable - 22%
- Streaming - 46%
- Other viewing - 10%
- Total:
- Broadcast - 20%
- Cable - 27%
- Streaming - 41%
- Other viewing - 12%
(Source: Nielsen Audience Measurement, July 2024)
About 37 million U.S. internet households use at least one ad-supported streaming service now.
(Source: Parks Associates, Q1 2022)
23% of U.S. users of ad-supported over-the-top streaming services report that they “often” click on ads.
- The same percentage report that they often buy products or services they see advertised.
(Source: Parks Associates, Q1 2022)
- Among consumers with at least one subscription, 57% have taken advantage of a bundle deal (with Disney+, Hulu & ESPN, T-Mobile & Netflix, and Hulu & HBO Max proving the most popular packages).
(Source: National Research Group, October 2022)
- The U.S. currently accounts for nearly 90% of global FAST (Free ad-supported Streaming TV) market Value.
(Source: Omdia Advertising Intelligence Service, 2023)
- Internet and mobile platforms allow for TV everywhere, but adaption percentages are still low
- Expanded digital viewing will be advantageous to advertisers, allowing exposure closer to point of purchase
- The mass reach once afforded by advertising on broadcast TV networks has declined due to:
- Access to multiple TV sets/screens within homes
- TV used to be a group activity with everyone in the household gathered in front of the TV
- Multiple sets/multiple screen options have transformed viewing into a more solitary, singular activity
- Digital-only platforms such as Hulu, Netflix, etc. have drawn viewers from broadcast, cable, ADS
- Video on Demand (VOD) options growing, gaining awareness among consumers
- Consumers no longer need to make an "appointment" to watch their favorite shows
- Prime-time programs recorded for later viewing, binge-viewing
- Time-shifting of programs challenges advertisers placing time-sensitive commercials
- Consumers may delete or skip over commercials in recorded programming
