Key Points
- Most streamers are using smart TVs to watch streaming content.
- Roku remains a dominant connected TV platform; Samsung, LG and other smart TV makers are winning the battle for FAST viewers and ad dollars.
- Sports fans are frustrated by the ongoing fragmentation of live event rights, as more games and competitions move to streaming platforms.
Most Americans are using streaming apps and services on a regular basis, and many of them feel there is little difference between the traditional television network and a streaming video service, according to a new report issued by Comscore.
The report, which tracks streaming-related trends for the year, says nearly 90 million American homes are streaming video through smart TVs or Internet-connected devices, and most of them — 81 percent — are watching video through the built-in apps on their smart TVs.
Slightly more than half of American consumers — 54 percent — said they use a smart TV as their primary way to watch online video, data that indicates use of mobile phones and other devices to watch streaming content is still pretty common in most homes. Only 17 percent of those surveyed said they use an Internet-connected device like a streaming stick or game console to watch online video through their TVs, which means most streamers find the apps built into their smart TVs to be perfectly suitable for their needs.
That shouldn’t come as a major surprise: Roku and Amazon Fire TV have offered their operating system through third-party — and, recently, their own — smart TVs for some time, and other manufacturers like Samsung and LG have their own connected TV platforms that support popular and niche streaming apps alike. Many also offer access to hundreds of free streaming content channels and thousands of on-demand video titles through their own apps, which have allowed their advertising businesses to gain more ground.
Streaming apps and services are putting more of an emphasis on their advertising models, too: Nearly half of all Netflix streaming (45 percent, up 11 percent year-over) now takes place on the company’s ad-supported tier, Comscore said, while other services have also experienced gains in their streaming platforms, including:
- Disney Plus (+16%)
- Prime Video (+10%)
- HBO Max (+10%)
- Discovery Plus (+10%)
Free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services are also gaining ground, with FAST viewing hours up 43 percent compared to 2024, Comscore noted. That rise in viewership was primarily driven by smart TVs — again, Samsung and LG have robust FAST platforms of their own (in some instances, their FAST apps automatically launch when a user powers on their smart TV), and other services like Roku and Amazon have scaled up their own FAST offerings in recent years.
When it comes to how consumers view streaming video over delivery channels like broadcast and cable, it’s all the same to them — they just want access to the shows, movies and live events, and it doesn’t really matter how it’s delivered.
But cost does matter, with audiences telling Comscore they prefer ad-supported experiences that help reduce the amount they pay for entertainment, news and sports. When they take an ad-supported plan, they want an experience that mirrors their browsing and shopping experience, Comscore said — which means, personalization across ad experiences is extremely important.
Fragmentation remains a problem as entertainment and live events move away from traditional broadcast and cable toward streaming apps, or are offered across different platforms that may or may not be within reach. One-third of sports fans surveyed by Comscore said the ongoing shuffle of sports rights across channels and services has made it more difficult to follow a particular team or find a game. That affirmation mirrors similar studies conducted by Hub Entertainment Research and others, which have also shown an uptick in fan frustration based largely on sports moving toward streaming services.
