The TV landscape in Q2 2026 confirms a major shift: streaming is no longer just a challenger, it is a primary destination. We have hit a new milestone where streaming accounts for 60% of all TV viewing time.
The latest insights from our Q2 2026 Market Trends Report found that while the streaming-first reality is here—with over half of smart TVs used exclusively for streaming or paired with a vMVPD—the way viewers actually consume content is becoming more deliberate and habit-driven.
Some other key takeaways when we looked back at the quarter:
- Streaming Dominance Continues: Steaming has also taken a grip on TVs, which are acting in a dual role as a streaming device. Over half of smart TVs (51.4%) are used exclusively for streaming or paired with vMVPD services.
- Concentrated App Usage: Most viewers stick to a narrow set of familiar apps, with anchor apps—those used in at least five of the previous six months—making up 64.4% of total usage.
- Traditional TV’s Role: Despite the shift to streaming, traditional TV inputs (cable, satellite, OTA) remain essential for sports and news, capturing 66.4% and 75.8% of viewing time in those categories, respectively.
For advertisers and app developers, the actionable next step (and challenge) is building habitual engagement to become one of the few core apps a viewer uses regularly.
The Inscape TV Market Trends Q2 2026 Report was generated using smart TV data from the the industry’s leading OS consisting of the VIZIO/Incape’s panel of over 28 million+ opted-in devices* from April to June of 2026.
*active within the past 365 days
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