The State of TV 2026: Streaming Is King, but Cable Wants Its Crown Back

It’s perhaps too obvious to mention at this point, but in 2026, cable is no longer the default TV option for most Americans. While streaming has become an essential utility for the majority of TV fans and movie buffs, it’s one that folks should reassess to make sure they’re getting what they want at the right price.

Digging into the data, TV services that deliver clear value, smart bundling, and must-have content (such as live sports, exclusive shows and movies, and niche genres) alongside budget-friendly prices will keep customers who otherwise actively manage subscriptions by cancelling, rotating, and bundling services.

Read on to discover more data-backed industry trends and how you can save more money on TV.

Streaming adoption and TV viewing habits

What percentage of Americans use streaming services?

In 2026, 92% of Americans use at least one streaming service, and 21% use five or more. Anyone who’s used a streaming service knows there’s more content than you could ever watch in one library, but if it’s not exactly what you want to watch, then you might find yourself trying to cover your bases with multiple services.

How do Americans watch TV?

Streaming is king: The majority of Americans (83%) turn to streaming as their primary source of TV. A little under half of the population (42%) depends on FAST (free ad-supported TV) to help keep their monthly costs down. And 22% of consumers currently still use cable as their default TV source.

• 83% subscription streaming services
• 42% FAST streaming services
• 22% cable TV

Streaming subscriptions and churn behavior

In 2026, over half (55%) of consumers rely exclusively on streaming, while most cable customers (82%) also pay for streaming services—showing that even with a cable subscription, customers still supplement their TV services for additional content.

Regarding churn (cancelling or not renewing subscriptions), 70% of cable subscribers have had cable for five years or more. Rather than fully replacing cable TV, consumers often mix and match services, but retention is partly due to habitual upkeep, the appeal of bundled offerings, or contractual commitments that keep customers through exclusive offers. (We’ll dive more into why people stick with cable later in this report.)

Compared with streaming services, 37% of consumers said they rarely cancel, while one in three Americans cancelled a streaming service in the past year—indicating it’s far more common, or at least easier, to switch streaming services.

The majority of Americans (43%) cite cost as the primary reason for cancelling a streaming service subscription. To a lesser extent, finishing a show accounted for roughly 19% of cancellations. Another smaller but notable reason for cancelling streaming services was the presence of ads. (Who likes being yelled at by insurance, pharmaceutical, and retail companies?)

Reasons why Americans cancel streaming

• 43% cost
• 18%–19% show ends
• 5% ads

You can learn more about the various reasons (including “subscription overload”) why many are turning to churning in our Streaming Cancellation Survey.

Number of subscribers per streaming service

Which streaming services are the most popular? Netflix is a household name worldwide, with over 325 million paid subscribers paying $7.99–$24.99 per month—making it the most popular streaming service by far.

Meanwhile, Disney+ comes in at 132 million subscribers, and HBO has 128 million. Relative newcomers Paramount+ and Peacock bring in 79 million and 41 million subscribers, respectively. While those are high numbers, they don’t even match Netflix’s combined subscriber count.

Average streaming bills cost a fifth as much as cable TV

Price is always a consideration for subscription services, but the tolerance between cable and streaming is vastly different: Streaming consumers typically spend $20–$60 per month, or roughly $30 per household. Compare that to cable TV packages at $147 per month. On that note, nearly 50% of cable TV subscribers are at their limit—they say they would cancel if prices increase.

• Streaming bills average $30/mo.
• Cable bills average $147/mo.
• Nearly 50% of cable subscribers would cancel if prices increase

But are cable customers overpaying for channels and programming they don’t actually watch? In our recent report on Cable TV Channel Bloat, we found that most customers watch only about 8% of the channels they pay for, suggesting they may be better off cutting the cord and switching to a streaming service that provides more of what they need and less of what they don’t.

Cable retention and bundling

While streaming dominates daily viewing, cable continues to remain relevant, especially through bundling and live sports. Half of cable subscribers bundle TV with internet or mobile services to get a better deal on a single bill. Despite numerous streaming services for sports fans, regional sports networks remain a major reason cable retains customers. In fact, 36% of consumers return to cable specifically for live sports.

Cable TV remains relevant

• 50% of cable subscribers bundle TV with internet or mobile
• 36% of consumers would consider cable if it included streaming services
• 36% of consumers return to cable specifically for live sports
• 10% say they would not consider cable at all

The TV landscape is always shifting, with new shows and movies appearing and disappearing across services—we can help ensure what you want to see is on your radar. Sign up for the CableTV.com email newsletter for weekly updates on what to watch and where to watch it.

Methodology

This report is based on proprietary CableTV.com data and third-party research, including a Pollfish survey of 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18–65, fielded in January 2026 and post-stratified to reflect the general U.S. population. Findings are supplemented with existing CableTV.com research on streaming cancellation behavior and consumer attitudes toward cable, along with select Pew Research Center data points used for additional industry context and benchmarking.