Free-to-air TV still leads as streaming grows, with YouTube overtaking Netflix in latest OzTAM figures
Australia’s television viewing habits continue to shift towards streaming, but free-to-air television and broadcaster video on demand (BVOD) still account for the majority of viewing on TV sets, according to the latest OzTAM Streamscape data for Q2 2026.
The figures, covering April to June 2026, show Total TV—which combines traditional broadcast television and BVOD services—accounted for 60.4% of all viewing on TV sets among Total People. While that remains the dominant share, it represents a decline from 62.1% recorded in the previous quarter.
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The biggest gain came from BVOD, with viewing increasing from 9.8% to 10.7% of total TV set viewing, partly offsetting a decline in traditional broadcast television, which now accounts for 49.7%.
Meanwhile, Digital Video, which includes subscription video on demand (SVOD), advertising-based video on demand (AVOD), free ad-supported streaming television (FAST), social video platforms and other online video services, increased its share from 37.9% to 39.6%.
The latest figures also mark a notable milestone among individual streaming services, with YouTube becoming the largest single digital video platform on Australian TV sets.
OzTAM’s latest Streamscape data shows Total TV continues to dominate Australian TV viewing even as streaming services expand their share.
According to OzTAM, YouTube captured 11.3% of Total Video viewing on TV sets during the quarter, rising 0.9 percentage points compared with the previous quarter and moving ahead of Netflix, which recorded a 10.5% share.
Among the other major streaming services measured, Disney+ accounted for 3.1% of Total Video viewing, while Prime Video represented 2.9%. A further 11.8% was attributed to other video services.
The report also highlights that while streaming continues to grow, television sets remain the primary screen for video consumption in Australian homes.
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Across all in-home devices, 85.1% of total video viewing occurred on TV sets, compared with 7.4% on smartphones, 4.7% on computers and 2.8% on tablets.
Viewing behaviour continues to differ significantly across age groups.
Among Australians aged 18 to 39, Digital Video represented 60.7% of viewing on TV sets, making streaming the dominant viewing choice for younger audiences.
However, among the key advertising demographic of people aged 25 to 54, viewing was almost perfectly balanced between Total TV, which accounted for 50.1%, and Digital Video on 49.9%.
According to OzTAM, more detailed demographic breakdowns by age and gender are available through its Streamscape interactive dashboard, which was introduced earlier this year.
The new dashboard replaces the previous quarterly report format and, according to the company, provides subscribers with richer personalised analysis, customised reporting and deeper insights into viewing trends across platforms, devices and demographic groups over time.
“Streamscape continues to provide the most complete view of how Australians engage with video across broadcast television, BVOD and digital video services.
“The Q2 data reinforces the enduring strength of Total TV, while also highlighting how viewing behaviours continue to evolve across different platforms, services and audiences.”
Karen Halligan, CEO of OzTAM, said the latest results demonstrated both the resilience of traditional television and the continuing evolution of Australia’s viewing landscape.
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OzTAM describes Streamscape as Australia’s first independent, unified measurement of Total Video consumption across broadcast television, BVOD and other streaming services. The company says the service complements its VOZ Total TV currency by providing a broader view of how Australians consume video content across multiple platforms.
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