Entertainment

Nearly 73% of All U.S. TV Viewing Remains Ad-Supported, and Streaming Is Taking Over the Sharetitled Draft

Nielsen’s Q1 2026 data shows that advertising remains a major part of U.S. television viewing, with nearly 73% of TV viewing taking place on ad-supported services. Streaming accounted for 46.6% of ad-supported viewing, while broadcast represented 28.2% and cable 25.2%. Despite the rapid growth of streaming, the overall share of ad-supported TV viewing was almost unchanged from 72.4% in Q1 2025, suggesting that streaming is changing where viewers see ads rather than eliminating ad-supported television.