Connected TV usage expands across all generations

About two-thirds of the US population are monthly connected TV (CTV) users. Young people are more likely to use CTV than older people. Four in 10 US senior citizens are CTV users—whereas CTV usage is about double that, more than 80%, among those ages 25 to 54.

Ad-free services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video remain streaming juggernauts, but streaming video viewing is also increasing for services featuring advertising. Ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) viewers represent close to half of all US internet users.

In September, we published our first-ever estimates for AVOD viewers. Our AVOD estimate excludes YouTube and other services that rely heavily on user-generated content such as Twitch. Our AVOD estimate includes paid subscription services like Hulu and Paramount+, which feature advertising. It also includes free ad-supported services like The Roku Channel, Tubi, IMDb TV, and Pluto TV. This forecast is defined as individuals of any age who watch videos on an ad-supported platform featuring professionally produced content at least once per month.

AVOD viewership is expanding because more media companies that own traditional TV networks are investing in streaming (e.g., NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Fox’s Tubi, ViacomCBS’s Pluto TV and Paramount+, WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, and Discovery’s Discovery+).