The New Streaming Reality

The average U.S. household now subscribes to more than five streaming services and spends more than three hours a day watching TV, movies and online video. But as viewers add more services, competition among streaming platforms is intensifying.  

Morgan Stanley's 16th annual streaming survey shows that the battle is no longer about attracting subscribers – it’s increasingly about keeping them. The winners are platforms offering the content consumers want to watch, from hit original series to live sports.  

The AlphaWise survey of about 3,000 U.S. consumers found that nearly 90% of entertainment services saw year-over-year consumer engagement growth, highlighting how central streaming has become to consumers’ daily entertainment habits.  

The average U.S. household now has 5.4 streaming services, up from 4.9 in 2025. That includes both free and paid subscriptions. 

“Consumers aren’t replacing one service with another. They’re adding more services – and becoming increasingly selective about which ones they keep,” says Sean Diffley, Morgan Stanley’s Media & Entertainment and Cable & Telecom Equity Research Analyst.  

While some investors worry that lower-cost ad-supported plans could draw subscribers away from premium offerings, the survey findings suggest that these plans are attracting additional subscribers rather than simply shifting viewers away from higher-priced plans.  

Streaming services have been able to increase the number of subscribers of ad-tiered plans, while those subscribing to plans without ads held steady from last year. 

According to the survey, social platforms posted the biggest gains in usage from last year for entertainment. Social media platforms are increasingly competing with TV time as they push harder into short-form video and long-form. 

Another trend gaining attention is the rise of micro dramas. These are short, serialized videos designed for mobile viewing. The format has become popular on both social and streaming platforms, particularly among younger consumers.  

“We are monitoring micro dramas as an emerging category taking more time spent for younger consumers,” Diffley says.  

Platform Retention

While many services offer similar viewing experiences, consumer engagement can help determine which platforms subscribers are most likely to keep. 

Some services are consistently named by consumers as the last they would cancel, suggesting they are the hardest to replace. 

“The stickiness of these platforms could be attributed to the quality of their content, breadth of variety, or being part of a service bundle,” Diffley says. “Yet, the quality of engagement with platform content is a complex and multifaceted measure and can vary across user segments.” 

The survey indicated that traditional cable still plays a role, but its reach continues to decline. The share of respondents with a traditional pay-TV subscription fell to 40%, down from 44% last year. Meanwhile, internet-based TV bundles and pure streaming services continue to drive much of the industry’s innovation. 

Live Sports on TV 

Historically, access to live televised sports has been a significant advantage for traditional pay TV over streaming services. 

Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said they watch sports regularly, and those viewers skew toward pay-TV subscribers. 

While streaming usage is increasing, more than half of total respondents still report regularly watching live sports on a TV channel, compared with about one-third of those who watch live sports on a streaming platform. 

Subscriptions to specific streaming platforms for live sports programming have increased significantly from 2025 to 2026. 

The percentage of users who subscribed to a platform because it offered live sports programming increased from 19% in 2025 to 25% in 2026. This trend is consistent across seven out of the eight platforms surveyed.  

Overall, pay TV remains the dominant destination for live sports, though sports-related subscriptions across streaming platforms have increased.