By Maria Mendoza, VP, Pay TV Sales, TiVo
Consumers today have more ways to watch video than ever before. Streaming services continue to multiply, free and ad-supported options are expanding, and content is available across an unprecedented number of platforms and devices. Despite all of this choice, one challenge persists: finding something to watch.
According to TiVo’s latest Video Trends Report, the average household returned to using more than 10 video services in Q4 2025 after a brief decline the previous year, while daily viewing exceeded five hours per day for the first time since 2021. On the surface, these trends point to a healthy and highly engaged entertainment ecosystem.
But beneath the growth lies a different reality: consumers are not struggling with a lack of content, but an abundance of it. As the entertainment landscape evolves, the next phase of television will be defined not by scale alone, but by simplicity. Making content easier to discover, access, and enjoy is as important as the content itself.
Viewers are not Cutting Back. They are Becoming More Intentional.
Despite ongoing economic pressures, consumers prioritize entertainment. Monthly entertainment spending increased to $161 in Q4 2025, reflecting year-over-year growth after a period of post-pandemic decline. Nearly two-thirds of consumers still rank video as a high or moderate spending priority, reinforcing the resilience of entertainment as household budgets remain under pressure.
Consumers are not abandoning services but are becoming more selective about the ones they keep and the value they expect in return. The average household now uses 10.34 video services, including 6.71 paid services and 3.63 free services. This mix reflects a more intentional approach to viewing, where consumers are actively balancing content access, flexibility, and cost.
The same trend can be seen in how viewers consume content. Roughly half of consumers prefer entire seasons to be released at once, while one in five prefer weekly episode rollouts.
This shift highlights an important evolution in how value is defined. Consumers are no longer evaluating services solely based on the size of a content library, but rather how efficiently viewers can find content that is relevant. The challenge is that as the number of available services grows, so does the effort required to navigate them.
Fragmentation is Increasing, but so is the Importance of What Anchors Viewing
The modern entertainment ecosystem offers extraordinary choice, but it often comes with friction. With the average household now managing more than 10 video services, 40% of consumers report checking multiple apps before deciding on what to watch.
At the same time, content discovery is happening outside the platforms themselves, as word of mouth (49%) and social media (40%) are playing an increasingly important role in shaping what viewers choose to watch.
In this environment, certain categories continue to stand out, such as local content. Nearly 30% of total viewing time is dedicated to local programming, underscoring its ongoing importance in consumers’ daily routines. Local news and community-focused programming deliver immediacy, utility, and trust in ways that few other categories can.
Sports play a similarly important role. Live sports remain one of the strongest drivers of engagement across the television ecosystem. Nearly 60% of sports viewing now rely on Pay TV as their primary source for sports content, a significant increase from the previous year.
Local programming and sports continue to shape viewing behavior because they serve essential needs, providing consistency and relevance even as the broader ecosystem becomes more fragmented. Their continued importance reinforces a broader lesson for the industry: content matters, but so does accessibility.
The Next Phase of TV Will be Defined by Simplicity and Value
As consumers seek greater value from their entertainment experiences, ad-supported viewing continues to gain momentum. More than half of consumers now subscribe to ad-supported streaming tiers, demonstrating a growing willingness to trade limited advertising exposure for lower subscription costs.
This evolution reflects a broader shift in consumer expectations. Consumers increasingly view advertising as a value exchange with excessive ad loads remaining the primary concern. When ad experiences are thoughtfully designed and appropriately paced, they can support affordability while helping viewers discover new content.
At the same time, FAST services and other ad-supported models are expanding access to content and creating new opportunities for viewers to balance cost, variety, and convenience. Yet even as business models continue to evolve, one challenge remains constant: fragmentation. Consumers are not necessarily asking for more services or content. They are asking for easier ways to navigate the entertainment options already available to them.
Aggregation is becoming a foundation of the modern television experience, bringing content together across platforms to reduce friction, improve discovery, and create a more seamless viewing journey.
From the consumer’s perspective, the delivery method matters less than the experience itself. Whether content comes through Pay TV, streaming, or a combination of both, viewers increasingly expect a seamless and intuitive path to content they want.
Simplicity Will Define the Winners
Consumers are watching more video than ever before, but engagement remains strong. The industry’s next opportunity is not delivering more content but making it easier to discover and navigate. The platforms that succeed will not necessarily be those with the largest content libraries. They will be the ones that make access effortless and discovery seamless.
In a market defined by abundance, success will belong to those who make it easier for viewers to find, access, and enjoy the content they love.
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