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US OTT and Pay TV Viewers Forecast 2026
Mergers Reorder the OTT Landscape, YouTube CTV Ascends, and Pay TV Sinks
Streaming now dominates the biggest screen in the home, as ad-supported tiers and free services surge. Traditional pay TV is slipping fast, and digital pay TV won’t save it. YouTube, Netflix, and Disney’s newly unified service will lead, but free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) is also coming on strong.
Key Question: How many people in the US will watch free or paid OTT video in 2026, and what is the outlook for pay TV?
Key Stat: Subscription OTT (sub OTT) streaming services will draw 78.9 million more viewers than total pay TV will in 2026.
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authors
Ethan Cramer-Flood
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