How Streaming Behaviour Is Changing: Insights from Emarketer’s CTV Summit 2026

The Emarketer CTV and Streaming Advertising Trends 2026 Summit this November looked at how viewer behaviour in the United States is shifting as connected TV (also known as CTV, streaming content watched directly on a television screen rather than on mobile or desktop) becomes the dominant way people watch long-form content. Although the focus was on the US market, the patterns highlighted are strong indicators of changes likely to appear in other international markets over the next year and beyond.

For those working in screen tourism, even without the budgets to advertise on these platforms, the summit provides useful insight into how audiences are discovering and engaging with film and television content as well as the type of advertising that works. It also offers a window on how streaming behaviour among audiences is evolving in general.

This piece looks at the panel discussion on The Evolution of the Streaming Viewer, which covered rising CTV penetration, ad supported tiers, classic catalogue programming and second screen use. The session was hosted by Emarketer’s Principal Forecasting Writer, Ethan Cramer Flood, with senior leads from PepsiCo, Humana and Verve.

Key Takeaways on CTV and Streaming Behaviour

1. CTV has overtaken traditional TV in reach

CTV is projected to reach 244 million US viewers by 2026, which is around 72 percent of the population. This represents a clear break from the dominance of traditional pay TV, which continues to decline. Penetration is already close to 90 percent among adults aged 25 to 55, and younger viewers, including Gen Z teens, are approaching similar levels of usage. Older viewers are also one of the fastest growing groups on CTV, with more than half of those aged 65 and over already watching. The panel noted that streaming is no longer the emerging option, it has become the default. As more viewers watch their favourite shows through CTV apps, long form viewing continues to move away from traditional pay TV.

2. Seniors are becoming a major streaming audience

Older viewers, once thought slow to adopt streaming, are now one of the fastest-growing groups in the data on CTV. Easier interfaces, integrated smart TVs, and a surge in classic catalogue content inncluding series like the Westerns, The Rifleman, I Love Lucy, and MASH* are driving adoption. Their adoption broadens the overall streaming audience and brings established favourites into regular viewing again. They also mentioned that this adoption gives marketers a chance to reach seniors in shows they genuinely choose to watch, rather than relying only on linear TV environments.

3. Ad-supported tiers and FAST channels continue to expand

More viewers are moving toward cheaper, ad-supported options as subscription prices continue to rise. The panel noted that ad-supported tiers at platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ are growing faster than their ad-free versions. They also highlighted strong audience growth in FAST channels (free, ad-supported streaming channels), which offer continuous, themed streams of programming and have become a popular low-cost alternative for viewers. Together, these models are expanding rapidly and reshaping how people watch streaming content

4. CTV advertising is rising, with new formats becoming standard

US CTV advertising is forecast to reach 37 billion dollars in 2026, reflecting strong double digit growth. The panel noted that viewers now see a wide mix of ad styles on CTV, from traditional cinematic spots to short creator style clips, influencer led pieces and even early examples of AI generated ads. Pause screen ads are also becoming more common.

The panel also highlighted that CTV carries far fewer ads than traditional US cable. CTV typically shows around 4 to 6 minutes of advertising per hour, compared with 12 to 18 minutes on linear television. With fewer interruptions, viewers tend to pay more attention to the ads they do see. At the same time, CTV is seeing more influencer style and creator led commercials, which mirror the style many audiences already recognise from social platforms. Taken together, this more personalised mix makes CTV advertising feel more relevant, less repetitive and generally easier for viewers to tolerate.

5. Fragmented viewing means audience targeting is crucial

Audiences are now spread across many different streaming services, with only certain live sports events attracting large groups of viewers at the same time. The panel noted that this fragmentation makes it harder for advertisers to reach audiences in one place, especially when there are thousands of channels and millions of titles available. As a result, advertising planning now relies more on data to understand who is watching and where they are watching. Automated buying tools help manage this across platforms because doing it manually is no longer practical. This creates challenges for broad reach, but it also allows for more precise targeting when needed.

Larger tourism boards often buy programmatic advertising through their media agencies, while smaller destinations may only encounter it when partnering on broader digital campaigns. The key takeaway from the panel is not that every destination must use these tools, but that fragmentation in streaming has changed how advertisers locate audiences.

6. Personalised and authentic creative is now expected

The panel noted that viewers respond more strongly when ads reflect their real lives. In healthcare, Humana has moved to testimonial campaigns built around real patients from different markets, speaking in their own words about the care they receive. Seniors in particular want to see doctors and communities that look like theirs and to hear stories in the languages they use every day.

The speakers also talked about tailoring creative to specific moments and occasions. Examples included breakfast brands linking their ads to cold mornings and parents looking for a hot option, and soft drinks showing what a good time looks like across sports, gaming and outdoor activities rather than one single event. Dynamic creative optimisation and the growing number of influencer style commercials on CTV are bringing the tone and edits of social media creators onto the television screen. Taken together, brands are moving away from one size fits all content and toward multiple versions of an ad that are adapted to different audiences, places and moments.

7. Second-screen behaviour is now part of the viewing journey

Viewers increasingly watch television while browsing, searching or communicating on their phones. The panel described this as a normal part of CTV viewing, with more than 200 million people using a second device while watching. Rather than seeing this as a distraction, advertisers are treating the phone as the place where action happens. QR codes are now common in live sports and CTV ad pods, allowing viewers to move straight from a television ad to a purchase or information page. Cross screen sequencing also lets brands follow the viewer from the television to the mobile device and back again. In healthcare, Humana has adapted by increasing the size of phone numbers in its ads because seniors prefer to call rather than complete forms online.

The panel described traditional television as a lean back medium. This means viewers sit back and watch without interacting with the screen. With the rise of second screen habits, the phone now acts as the lean forward device, where people take action. It becomes the bridge between watching and doing, whether that means scanning a QR code, looking up more information or making a call.

Global YouGov data from 2023 found that in seventeen markets a clear majority of viewers look at their phones while watching television. The highest levels of second screen behaviour were reported in India, the UAE and Australia at around sixty percent, followed by the United States, Britain and Denmark at fifty five percent. Industry research since then suggests that these habits have only increased as mobile use has grown and streaming has become more dominant in daily viewing.

Why This Matters for the Screen Tourism Industry

Even for organisations that may never invest directly in CTV advertising, these trends reveal how audiences not only discover, consume, and engage with advertising content but how they are using these platforms. As CTV becomes the default viewing environment, the panel made one thing clear. streaming is no longer a single screen activity. Viewers now move between platforms, devices and content styles in ways that shape how stories are discovered and revisited. For destinations and cultural organisations, these shifts matter because they show how filmed content is found, shared and acted on. Understanding these patterns helps frame how audiences engage with place based stories today.

1. Discovery is now multi-screen, not single-screen
People watch on the television but act on their phone. This matters for destinations because curiosity to find out more can come from a TV moment, but the search, finding information and finding a destination or location can happen immediately on their devices.

2. Personal relevance shapes interest
Viewers respond to stories and visuals that feel close to their own lives. For tourism, that strengthens the value of authentic, community-rooted storytelling rather than glossy, one-size-fits-all content.

3. Fragmented viewing makes data driven choices more important

With viewers spread across many services, media planners now rely more on data to understand where people are watching. Destinations that work with media agencies or have the budget for digital targeting can use this to place their content more efficiently. 

4. The rise of creator style ads on connected television also means that ideas that work on social can be adapted for or repackaged for TV, as long as they are tailored to the context and kept clear for lean back viewing.

To watch the full talk from Emarketer, see below.