• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Rising numbers of U.S. consumers say they "generally" don’t watch live TV on an average day, according to a survey by Attest, the on-demand focused market research firm -- now at 28%.

This is up from 24% in 2024 and 20% in 2023.

The trend keeps rising due to young consumers -- about 41% of those weak TV viewing consumers are under 30 years old -- compared to 27% for consumers ages 31-49 and 20% for those over 50.

And those in that under-30 group who watch TV are most likely to watch for only 30 minutes.

At the same time, the report notes there is a maturation trend, at least for high daily streaming TV activity -- 19% of all consumers versus watch two or more hours per day of streaming content. This is down from 23% a year ago.

The biggest contingent of video streaming viewers is the 33% who watch one to two hours a day. Those who watch live TV for the same duration -- one to two hours a day -- are 22% of overall consumers.

Those over 50 years old are the biggest consumer segment who don't watch content on streaming, at 27%. On the flip side, just 8% of young consumers are found not to watch streaming.

Looking at weekly usage of TV streaming platforms, the study finds that 64% watch Netflix at least once a week -- up from 62% a year ago. In 2023, Netflix was at 71%.

After Netflix comes Amazon Prime Video --49%; Hulu is at 44%; Disney+ (35%); Paramount+ and Peacock (28% each); and Max (25%). Prime Video and Disney+ are up four percent points versus a year ago; with Max down four points.

Netflix does its best with young viewers ages 18 to 30 who comprise its top viewers -- 77% -- according to the survey. Hulu is at 57% among these viewers; Disney+ 46%. Mid-age viewers 31-49 are best for Prime Video (56%); Paramount+ (31%) and Apple TV+ (14%).

Survey results come from 2,000 U.S. consumers ages 18-67. The study was conducted in March and April of this year.