It’s a mixed bag for TV and streaming these days, with viewing and engagement up across the board even as media companies struggle to meet consumers’ ever-changing wants and desires. Xperi’s twice-per-year TiVo Video Trends Report offers no quarter from the storm, but the survey of 4,493 consumers in the U.S. and Canada reveals that people are watching more video, spending more money, and using more services than ever – but they’re also becoming more savvy, price-
sensitive, and frustrated. “Consumers are watching more video than ever before, but they’re enjoying that content across an increasingly fragmented mix of platforms and services,” said Xperi’s Geir Skaaden, arguing that “delivering simple, seamless viewing experiences will be critical to reaching audiences and keeping them engaged.” This engagement paradox suggests that with more hours of viewing amid more content choices than ever translates to increasing friction with consumers. Only those who pivot well and recognize the trendlines are likely to survive the maelstrom.
One thing is certain: People are still watching a lot of TV. Daily viewing surpassed five hours for the first time since 2021, and households returned to double-digit service adoption, averaging just over 10 video sources, including nearly seven paid and four non-paid. Monthly entertainment spending has climbed to $161, reflecting year-over-year growth even as broader economic pressures weigh on discretionary budgets. And 65 percent of respondents still rate video as a moderate or high spending priority. But while 71% of respondents say their number of services feels “just right,” those who perceive “way too many” jumped 7 points, with 40% of viewers checking two or three apps before deciding what to watch. And content discovery increasingly happens outside platforms entirely through word of mouth (49%) and social media (40%), both of which now rival or exceed platform-driven recommendations as the top methods of discovery. On the artificial intelligence front, only 3% reported using AI search tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini to find new shows, a small but symbolically significant data point. A big question for the next survey will be whether that number stagnates or balloons as more streaming services presumably follow Tubi’s lead following the free AVOD/FAST play’s deal earlier this year to integrate show recommendations into ChatGPT. In a way, the ability to convert viewer intent into seamless, monetizable activity is becoming more elusive amid endless options, suggesting that the platforms that solve discovery friction will wield a big competitive advantage.
The report also confirmed the consumer embrace of ad-supported models. Nearly 54% of SVOD subs now use at least one ad-supported tier, and AVOD/FAST adoption surged to 70%, up from 65.2% a year ago. FAST users now watch an average of 7.5 channels, an increase of more than two channels YOY, and 66.1% of all AVOD/FAST users say FAST is now their primary way to watch live TV. Tubi leads the free AVOD/FAST pack, followed closely by Amazon Prime Video, which benefited from its decision to shutter the Freevee brand and infuse its FAST channel lineup into Prime Video. But interestingly, only 25.5% of respondents expressed any interest in paying for ad-free plans, while nearly 60% described themselves as “tolerant” of ads and traditional pay TV subs seem more receptive to home-screen advertising and shoppable ad formats. However, excessive ad loads were identified as the single biggest annoyance, ranking above repetitive, irrelevant, and poorly placed ads. According to One Touch Intelligence’s StreamTRAK® video intelligence service, hourly ad time by platform so far in 2026 sits at 5.4 minutes on AVOD and 11.7 minutes on FAST, compared to 5.3 minutes on AVOD and 12.4 minutes on FAST across all of 2025. The TiVo data also suggests that roughly two thirds of respondents (66.2%) prefer to watch all ads before a program begins rather than endure mid-roll interruptions, and it will be interesting to see if more AVOD experiences shy away from mid-rolls as consumers seek more seamless viewing experiences. When it comes to sports, despite all the sports splitting off into streaming, traditional cable TV reasserted itself as the dominant sports source, jumping to 58.6% from 40.3% a year earlier. But the number of services needed to follow a favorite sport climbed to 2.7, up from 2.4. Almost 69% of sports viewers say it’s gotten harder to watch, and 36% will simply skip an event if it’s not readily available through their existing services. Meanwhile, beyond sports, one intriguing finding is that local content in general now accounts for roughly 30% of total viewing time, up from roughly 25% last year, and local programming remans the top driver for “cord revivers,” the 27.3% who previously cut the cord but came back. In addition to bundle value and sports access, local content may become key to the resubscription case, a thought probably not lost on media mogul Byron Allen as he attempts to marryBuzzFeed and HuffPost content with his hundreds of locally focused FAST channels – but we digress. The bottom line is that even amid global streaming libraries and algorithmic recommendations, local content is becoming a unique anchor.
Next? Xperi’s every-six-months survey remains one of the best gauges out there to take the pulse of the media consumer. And the latest results announced this week suggest that the entire media landscape remains at a crossroads of sorts, with consumers more engaged with their content than ever but sending mixed signals about how to reach them consistently and on what exact platforms. People seem more willing to walk away than ever, especially if they view their engagement on a particular service as falling short on the value equation. Perhaps the array of bundles available to them these days – along with convergence pricing and inclusion offers by top distributors – will continue to turn the tide as some choose to come back to the pay TV fold as others spend more time on alternative platforms ranging from YouTube to Instagram. But the platforms and operators that most reduce discovery friction, respect ad tolerance thresholds, aggregate sports and local content effectively, and deliver value will probably find more success than those that don’t. This is a value-at-scale environment. We’re all just living in it.
