Survey: More than 70% of consumers say streaming is default watching method
Streaming has overtaken traditional cable as the primary media viewing method for consumers — changing how retail advertisers interact with audiences.
Nearly nine-in-10 U.S. adults engage with streaming or connected TV, including older viewers and lower-income households that were once considered "exclusive" to traditional TV, reveals a report from digital marketing agency Adtaxi. Only 10% of respondents now default to cable TV, down sharply from 17% last year.
More than 70% of adults now say streaming is their default way to watch TV and video. For adults under age 45, 80% or more turn to digital video as their first choice for consuming content.
Adtaxi’s survey found that households now subscribe to an average of 3.5 paid streaming services alongside an average of 3.3 free ad-supported platforms, spending $56 per month on subscriptions.
The rise of streaming has also changed how marketers advertise towards consumers. Sixteen percent of those surveyed reported purchasing after seeing a streaming ad. While more than a third (36%) of consumers say digital video ads feel more personalized, over half perceive no difference versus traditional TV.
“This is a moment the media industry has been moving toward for years,” said Murry Woronoff, director of research at Adtaxi. “Streaming is no longer an emerging channel. It is now the foundation of how we consume content. For marketers, digital video now delivers what linear TV once did: mass reach, cultural relevance, and measurable business impact, all in one environment.”
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Additional insights from the survey include the following:
- The fastest-growing segment of viewers splits time between streaming and linear TV, often relying on digital platforms for most content while maintaining traditional TV for certain live sports and news. Meanwhile, linear-only audiences continue to decline.
- Consumers now watch video across three or more devices on average, including TVs, smartphones, laptops and tablets. Mobile now leads all screens for video consumption.
Adtaxi’s 2026 CTV Streaming Survey and Study was conducted using SurveyMonkey, with the most recent wave launching in January 2026 and surveying more than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide. The survey is part of a longitudinal dataset now exceeding 10,000 respondents since 2016.
