Streamers in North America spent less time engaged with connected video apps during the first half of this year than they did during the same time period last year, according to a new report from intelligence firm NPAW.
According to NPAW’s new “1H 2025 State of Streaming” report, North American video on-demand engagement averaged 69 minutes per day in the first half of the year, a decline of 18 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Linear TV viewing in the region fell even further, dropping 21 percent to an average of 41 minutes per day.
The report comes amid a shift at several streaming services, including Netflix and Disney, where subscriber counts are being downplayed in favor of the more favorable “engagement” metric as a measure of their direct-to-consumer business health.
“The first half of 2025 displayed some remarkable improvements in quality KPIs across the globe,” said Ferran G. Vilaro, the co-Founder and CEO of NPAW. “With (Latin America), the Middle East and North America showing the greatest gains, most regions have seen an upward shift in buffer-ratio quality, average bitrate and join times. These are clear indicators of ongoing investment in infrastructure by OTTs, telco providers and broadcasters alike.”
Vilaro also emphasized the continuing dominance of large-screen devices: “The data shows wider adoption of Smart TVs and Set Top Boxes as the devices of choice for viewers, especially when it comes to long format content. Quality metrics on these devices, by and large, are greatly improved over H1 2024. Again, on STBs and TVs, we see greater engagement than on other devices – 69 percent total for VoD, and an incredible 87 percent for Linear TV. The majority of viewers are choosing to consume content on the large screen.”
Globally, NPAW found that average playtime per user and titles viewed per day declined slightly compared to the first half of 2024. Video on-demand quality improved in nearly all regions, with notable gains in average bit rate, join time and buffer ratio. TVs and set-top boxes accounted for the highest engagement rates and playtime per user.
For linear TV, average join times fell by 16 percent compared to last year, with average bit rate and buffer ratio also improving significantly. Regional engagement was strongest in Europe, where viewers averaged more than 60 minutes per day, while the Middle East posted the largest year-over-year gains, up 13 percent.
Device share for linear TV remained heavily concentrated, with TVs and set-top boxes together accounting for more than 87 percent of viewing, underscoring the continued preference for large-screen consumption of long-form programming.
