TVB’s 2026 Purchase Funnel Study examined which channels drive awareness among streaming viewers. Linear TV ranked first in every segment. The study, commissioned by TVB, surveyed in-market consumers and defines linear TV as broadcast and cable. Among those who watch YouTube, 42% named linear TV as the most important influence on their awareness, as did 41% of free ad-supported streaming (FAST) app users and 38% of paid subscription streamers.
Streaming and Linear Audiences Overlap
Media plans often treat streaming viewers and linear viewers as separate audiences reached through separate budgets. The study suggests the two groups overlap substantially. Consumers who watch YouTube, use FAST apps, and subscribe to services such as Netflix and Max also rank linear TV as their top influence on awareness.
Consider a household on a Tuesday evening, one viewer streams a series on Max while scrolling on a phone, giving it partial attention. Two nights later, that same viewer watches a live football game on linear TV, fully attentive through every commercial break. A plan that counts this person once, as a streaming viewer, overlooks the second and higher-attention occasion.
The implication is that a streaming-only plan is likely to reach many of the same people through one fewer channel, and the channel it omits is the one they rank highest for awareness.
For illustration, suppose a brand moves $500,000 from linear to streaming. It would be reaching many of the same consumers while giving up the touchpoint they rank highest. Reported reach could look similar, but the influence behind that reach may not be.
Media Manager’s convergent TV approach is designed to close the reach gaps that appear when linear and streaming are planned as separate budgets.
For 2026, the more useful planning question is not “linear or streaming.” It is how much of each to deliver to the same audience, at the right frequency.
