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  • Report
  • Behavioral
North America

Media Consumption Report

YouTube is their TV, Netflix is their cable, and fan edits are their trailers—young people’s viewing habits have been quietly rewritten. Is the binge era over? Are weekly drops worth the gamble? Why are young consumers suddenly okay with ads again—and what does it mean when their favorite “shows” now live on TikTok? For entertainment brands, the playbook from even two years ago is already out of date.

In YPulse’s 2026 Media Consumption Report, we dive into where young consumers are actually watching video content, how social platforms are stealing TV’s share of attention, why fan edits have become a discovery engine for entertainment, and how Gen Z and Millennials are responding to the rise of ad-supported streaming.

Download the full report for further insights

  • How YouTube became young consumers’ default video platform—and where Netflix, TikTok, and Instagram fit into their weekly viewing
  • How fan edits, microdramas, and short-form video are reshaping what young viewers discover and watch
  • Which streaming habits—from binge drops to ad-supported tiers to bundled services—are winning Gen Z and Millennials’ time and money
Report length: 22 pages, North America report is based on surveys of 1500 13-39-year-olds in the U.S. and Canada, fielded April 2026. Western Europe report is based on a survey of 2500 13-39-year-olds in the U.K., Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, fielded in April 2026.

Additional survey content for Pro users:

The full list of video platforms and streaming services young consumers are using weekly, the specific types of video content they’re watching, the devices they’re watching on, what they’re spending money on across entertainment categories, and their preferences on everything from cable vs. streaming to AI-generated content in their feeds, and the full open-ended list of their favorite currently airing TV shows (and why).

The Data File also includes data split by the following demographics: Gender & Generation, Age Groups, Academic Status, Race, POC, Country, Urban/Rural Status, LGBTQ+, Parent, Household Income, and Political Leanings.

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