TVB, the trade association of America’s local broadcast television industry, has released findings from a study analysing multimedia use and effectiveness.

The 2026 Media Comparisons Study, conducted by GfK/NIQ and commissioned by TVB, examined media use among US adults (aged 18+) on over 20 traditional and digital media platforms including free, paid ad-supported, and advertising-free streaming platforms, as well as user-generated and short-form content like YouTube. It measured linear broadcast viewing of programs on TV, mobile devices, websites/apps, and digital devices to get a complete picture of broadcast’s assets.

In addition to analysing reach and time spent, the study also looked at what news sources are considered most trustworthy, the level of community involvement, and motivation to do further research online.

Key findings of the study include:

• TV, viewed on a television screen, has the highest reach and time spent of all media platforms studied, for all age groups and categories measured.
• Most TV viewers are reached through broadcast TV.
• Linear TV viewing is primarily done on TV sets but not exclusively.
  • Adults also spent 38 minutes each day viewing broadcast linear content on computers, smartphones, and tablets.
• Local broadcast TV is the most turned to, and most trusted, for local news.
• TV ads motivate viewers to do further research online.
• More time is spent with broadcast TV across all devices than with cable and streaming programs.
• Respondents spend far more time on broadcast TV than on user generated and short-form content like YouTube.
  • 85 per cent of broadcast viewing is on the larger TV screen, while 51 per cent of viewing time on platforms like YouTube is on smaller digital devices.
• Total broadcast assets can reach nine out of ten adults 18+ and in key categories.
• Broadcast websites, and broadcast TV on a digital device, added more reach to broadcast TV than cable and AVoD.
• 47 per cent of respondents cite local broadcast television assets as most involved in their community.
• When looking at long-form ad-supported programming, linear TV represents 68 per cent of viewing time, while streaming represents 32%.
• Broadcast reaches 94 per cent of ad-supported streamers who stream on their TV sets.
• Advertisers cannot reach ad-free streamers, but broadcast assets can reach 92 per cent of them.

“The 2026 Media Comparisons Study once again confirms the power of broadcast television to deliver unmatched reach, trust, and influence – across all media devices,” said the TVB.

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Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Consumer Behaviour, OTT, Research, VOD

Tags: avod, linear, TVB, usa, youtube