• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 9 hours ago

Although analysts have been talking about declines for linear TV, those channels could be getting a second wind -- with the help of all streaming platforms, according to some new results from ARF’s DASH TV Universe Study.

Nearly 40% of linear audiences now access linear TV channels via some form of streaming platforms/apps -- up from 38% a year ago.

Increasingly households are accessing linear channels through a number of different services: Virtual MVPDs, provider apps (via single or bundle streaming services), or on legacy pay TV (cable, satellite providers).

The benefit, according to the study, is that “streaming is changing the demographics of linear households."

Now linear TV channels through streaming platforms are seeing gains from viewers who have higher household income, improved co-viewing of content, and larger households overall.

The study also shows that different streaming platforms are helping each other. 

For example, 41% of customers who have a virtual pay TV provider are more likely to add a paid on-demand streaming service such as Netflix, Disney+ or HBO Max, compared with 32% of all U.S. households.

These results are up from 2024, which came in at 36% for customers with virtual MVPDs compared to 32% for all U.S. households.

The study’s authors say: “In the increasingly hybrid world of TV, linear is no longer defined only by the cable box (or antenna), and streaming is no longer defined only by on-demand viewing.... In that sense, streamed linear is not a break from linear’s past but an enabler of its future.”