Platforms are fighting over the biggest screen in your house… Yep, the one you use when you take a break from your phone.
The numbers picked a side: Nielsen’s Q2 2026 Gauge has ad-supported streaming up 1.6% to 48.2% of total viewing.
Broadcast dropped from 28.2% to 26.6%, even while carrying the NBA Finals and the opening stages of the World Cup.
Both tournaments also streamed, so linear may have cannibalised itself.
One caveat: Total ad-supported TV finished at 71.5%, down 1.3% from Q1.
Instagram wants a seat on the sofa: The platform enlisted four creators to demo its TV app as shared, big-screen viewing.
Translation? Your vertical creative may soon need a horizontal cut built for more than one pair of eyes.
And IG is not alone in this chase.
YouTube is building actual channels: It just expanded its Stations experiment to more creators, podcasters and musicians.
Stations run 24/7 with live chat attached, so you get lean-back inventory and an audience that stays put.
Stations are available globally except in Portugal, Switzerland and Turkiye, though only a handful of new creators are getting in for now.
So far it’s looking like the big screen is getting reclaimed by the same mobile apps that pulled attention away from it.
