Fluid viewers, fixed budgets: what real-world TV data reveals about modern TV viewing

Samsung Ads’ Behind the Screens 2026 report, built on first-party TV data, reveals shifting behaviours across the total TV ecosystem – linear, streaming, gaming and the home screen

Fragmentation in Connected TV viewing is not a passing trend – it is the new normal. And audiences are no longer experiencing CTV as a collection of separate services, but as a single, continuous viewing experience across numerous apps – all radiating out from the CTV home screen.

Those are among the conclusions of the latest edition of the Samsung Ads annual Behind the Screens report. Drawing on first‑party insights from over 70 million Samsung smart TVs in Europe, and complemented by custom consumer research, the report finds that viewing habits have taken on a fluid new form that more closely resembles our smartphone use than the channel-hopping of television’s linear past.

Behind the Screens 2026 sets out the new realities for brands on keeping pace with a highly fragmented audience – who may be sitting on their sofas, but are still on the move.

Among its key insights:

• Five apps on average were used per household across 20251,  while total app launches rose by 8% year over year to 18.4bn in 2025.5 Fragmentation is no longer just about more services—it reflects audiences actively spreading their attention across a wider range of platforms.
• Younger viewers are the most fragmented, using 21% more apps on average1 and moving fluidly between subscription and free platforms. They have even less platform loyalty, following content rather than services.
• No single environment captures the full CTV audience: 24% of Samsung TVs make up 81% of all linear viewing, while 27% of Samsung TVs stream and never watch linear.
• The home screen has emerged as a primary moment of influence. It is the central point viewers return to throughout their journey—accessed more than five times per day5—as they switch on their TV and continue to app-hop. Nearly nine in 10 respondents use the home screen to decide what to watch next.

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The report captures a market where viewing habits are rapidly evolving to accommodate an ever-expanding array of entertainment. In Q1 2026 alone, over 650 football matches from Europe’s top leagues2 competed for attention alongside more than 100,000 unique titles on the top SVOD platforms3 and 90 new gaming releases.4 More shows, more sport, more streaming, more gaming- all competing for the same screen.

With a vast and growing range of apps and viewing options, audiences are no longer loyal to platforms – they follow content seamlessly across a highly competitive CTV ecosystem that spans streaming, gaming, and linear viewing.

Against this saturated backdrop, the home screen has become a vital fixed point. It is the primary discovery moment for content, and a valuable opportunity to capture attention before it inevitably fragments.

“Fragmentation is no longer a trend – it is the reality of today’s TV landscape. Younger audiences, in particular, are driving this shift, using over 20% more apps on average and moving fluidly between subscription and free platforms,” said Matt Bryan, Director of Analytics & Insights at Samsung Ads. “As viewers follow content rather than platforms, linear, streaming, and gaming have become interconnected parts of a much more complex ecosystem. For advertisers, this creates an opportunity to plan with a more holistic view of the TV landscape. Solutions like TotalView™ are making it possible to understand true reach and invest with greater precision.”

Among the other insights of Samsung’s Behind the Screens 2026 report are:

Viewing choices are led by apps, not channels. More than 8 in 10 consumers say content drives their app choices: prioritising freshness, exclusivity and relevance.

Streaming app use varies significantly. Most viewers have multiple subscriptions at once, each serving a distinct content need. Within those subscriptions, viewers move freely, switching between services in search of what fits the moment. The average household  uses five apps on average. Of those surveyed:

• 60% keep multiple subscriptions all year round.
• 18% rotate between services depending on what’s available.
• 14% mostly use free or ad-supported platforms.
• 8% only subscribe occasionally for specific shows or events.

TV is still a social event. The living room remains a shared space, with co-viewing the norm across linear and streaming. Linear and streaming viewership peaks at 7pm, while UGC viewership drops away as viewers favour a more shared, big screen experience for prime time viewing.

Gamers are a highly receptive but consistently under-served audience for advertising – they are 88% more likely than average to follow home screen recommendations and 135% more likely to look up products in TV ads. When they watch TV, they rarely watch alone: 72% of gamers watch in groups of two or more, and they are nearly three times more likely than average to watch TV in groups of three or more.

Sources:

1. Samsung Behind the Screens Research Survey, 2026.
2. A derived estimate based on official fixtures and league formats.
3. Gracenote.
4. Gamespot.com.
5. Samsung Consumer Electronics Proprietary Business Intelligence, 2025, EU5.

About Samsung Ads

Samsung Ads, a division of Samsung’s media & services business, harnesses the power of data, technology and scale to create a seamless advertising experience that amplifies brand stories across an ecosystem of devices. Leveraging its unique position with over 70 Million devices in Europe, Samsung Ads delivers high-impact, targeted advertising solutions across multiple screens, enabling brands to reach audiences in the moments that matter. Samsung Ads – where technology meets creativity to deliver advertising experiences that captivate and inspire. Launched in 2015, Samsung Ads has offices in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, India, Brazil & Mexico and South Korea.