The New Rules of Streaming Behavior in America (Olyzon Streaming Pulse Report)

In our Q2 Streaming Pulse study, we analyzed the viewing habits of one thousand Americans, from when and how they stream content to why.

There’s a wealth of data to be had around streaming services in 2026 but not nearly enough insight; too much of the important information is siloed behind various moats and services. Important details are held captive, and the industry’s momentum is held hostage by the need to monetize information about usage and habits. Targeting is better than ever but who to reach, where, and how remains a mystery.

So we set out to change that, or at least clear up the picture a bit. In April we launched the Olyzon Streaming Pulse, the first in a series of regular studies designed to demystify the streaming space and better understand who’s watching streaming video, how they’re watching it, and what shifts mean for advertisers and consumers alike. For us, it’s great intel we can use to improve our agentic planning tools and resonance scoring models. For you, it’s free market research.

For this first study, we partnered with Censuswide, a market research firm specializing in surveys, to design and execute a survey to 1,000 US consumers. Survey respondents were asked a number of questions about their streaming subscriptions and viewing habits, and results were weighted according to US Census results around age and gender.

What Did We Discover?

Well, the short answer is: Quite a lot. There are some specific trends we wanted to look at, such as around streaming viewing of major tentpole events like March Madness, but also a number of things we wanted to look at, like ad-supported viewing and whether people watching streaming video in the background while doing other things. Here are a few of the most important findings:

• Streaming has become ambient media. Nearly half of consumers (45%) regularly put on streaming video when planning to do something else, such as working, cooking, or doing chores. This is particularly true for younger Americans; ambient streaming is near-universal for anyone under 45. CTV isn’t competing with linear TV for prime-time eyeballs bur rather with Spotify, radio, and podcasts as the soundtrack to everyday life.
• Ambient Viewing is a Discovery Engine. Viewers who put on streaming video while they’re doing other things are more likely to discover new content through service recommendations, letting algorithms pick whatever comes next and watching it. This is more common among Adults 18-24.
• FAST and Ad-supported streaming has become a fundamental part of American entertainment. 71% of Americans watch ad-supported streaming services, even as half of Americans pay for at least one ad-free service. Ad-supported models have won, bringing streaming video services to the vast majority of American households.
• Streaming is a high-income activity. Households with higher incomes stream more - the spend more hours per week streaming, subscribe to more services—both ad-supported and ad-free—have more Connected TVs, and are more likely to buy something they saw advertised. As income scales up, so does co-viewing, both with partners and children.
• Marketer budgets don’t reflect the growing importance of CTV. Last year CTV viewing made up 40% of total media time for Americans — 7% of that being ad-supported — but the channel is predicted to capture less than one tenth of total digital ad spend in 2026 (9.8%). Momentum is building: 46% plan to redirect linear budgets to CTV in 2026, but the channel’s potential is even bigger.

There’s more, of course - we explore these concepts in more detail in our full study and we’ll talk more about them in future blog posts. We’re still digging through the data and finding cool new things every week. So if you’re interested in finding out more, check back in future weeks. Or if you’re more impatient, go ahead and reach out to us to schedule an in-person presentation of our findings.

Want to know more about the Olyzon Streaming Pulse study? Contact us to schedule a presentation: sales@olyzon.tv