The trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry with a sales focus has concluded that “TV,” when viewed on a television screen, has the highest reach and time spent of all media platforms studied.
This carries for all age groups and categories measured, the TVB study indicates.
The 2026 Media Comparisons Study analyzes multimedia use and effectiveness. Conducted by GfK/NIQ and commissioned by TVB, it examines media use among adults 18+ on more than 20 traditional and digital media platforms. It is inclusive of free, paid ad-supported, and advertising-free streaming platforms, as well as user-generated and short-form content on platforms including YouTube. It measures linear broadcast viewing of programs on TV, mobile devices, websites/apps, and digital devices to get a complete picture of broadcast’s assets.
Among the study’s key takeways:
- Most TV viewers are reached through broadcast TV
- Linear TV viewing is primarily done on TV sets but not exclusively
- Adults also spent 38 minutes each day viewing broadcast linear content on computers, smartphones, and tablets
- Local broadcast TV is the most turned to, and most trusted, for local news.
TV ads motivate viewers to do further research online - More time is spent with broadcast TV across all devices than with cable and streaming programs
- Respondents spend far more time on broadcast TV than on user generated and short-form content like YouTube
- Some 85% of broadcast viewing is on the larger TV screen, while 51% of viewing time on platforms like YouTube is on smaller digital devices
- Total broadcast assets can reach nine out of ten adults 18+ and in key categories.
Broadcast websites, and broadcast TV on a digital device, added more reach to broadcast TV than cable and advertising-based Video on Demand platforms - Some 47% of respondents cite local broadcast television assets as most involved in their community
- When looking at long-form ad-supported programming, linear TV represents 68% of viewing time, while streaming represents 32%.
- Broadcast reaches 94% of ad-supported streamers who stream on their TV sets.
Advertisers cannot reach ad-free streamers, but broadcast assets can reach 92% of them.
In addition to analyzing reach and time spent, the study also looks at what news sources are considered most trustworthy, the level of community involvement, and motivation to do further research online.
To view the eight-page deck with full study details, please click here.
