Deloitte: Viewing Habits Rewrite the Media Playbook

Snapshot
Deloitte’s latest Digital Media Trends report highlights a seismic shift in how viewers—especially younger ones—consume content. Traditional cable and satellite TV continue to decline, now serving just 49% of consumers, with Gen Z and millennials rapidly cutting ties in favor of more flexible and affordable options. Even live-streaming TV services, once positioned as the modern alternative, have stalled at 40% adoption, offering too little value at too high a price.

Instead, social media has become the default viewing platform, especially for sports and entertainment highlights. One in three Gen Z viewers skips paid sports subscriptions entirely, opting to watch the best moments on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with SVOD (streaming video on demand) is on the rise—41% of consumers say the content isn’t worth the cost, and nearly half feel they pay too much. Gen Z and millennials, who average five paid streaming services, have seen costs spike 20% in the past year alone.

These habits point to a growing divide between what platforms offer and how people want to watch. Viewers crave immediacy, relevance, and flexibility—qualities they find in social feeds, not programming guides. As bundles and ad-supported models resurface, studios may be missing the larger point: people are no longer tuning in, they’re tapping in. The next chapter of media will be defined less by what gets produced, and more by how—and where—people choose to watch.

Full story: Deloitte