Total minutes of TV watched

IBISWorld forecasts that the average amount of time Australians spend watching television each day will drop by 1.7% in 2025-26 to 96.4 minutes. Free-to-air television continues to experience a clear downwards trend in both reach and viewing time, according to the ACMA, with 2024 figures showing notable year-on-year declines. Meanwhile, subscription streaming has plateaued, now serving mainly as a replacement rather than a growing category. Video viewing is increasingly shifting to online and user-generated content, like YouTube, which ACMA notes is becoming the dominant mode for many Australians. Deloitte's 2025 insights highlight a disconnect between rising subscription costs and softening screen engagement, reflecting growing subscription fatigue. Ultimately, as traditional TV and SVOD both stagnate or decline and time fragments further across digital platforms, daily TV minutes are falling.

The amount of time Australians spend watching television each day has declined over the past five years. The introduction of US-based SVOD provider Netflix into the Australian market in March 2015 has provided viewers with a low-cost alternative to pay-TV provider Foxtel. Netflix and its local competitor, Stan, have also impacted the market for commercial, free-to-air operators Seven, Nine and Ten. Amazon Prime Video launched in Australia in December 2016 and Disney+ entered the Australian market in November 2019, intensifying competition. Foxtel also launched its streaming app, Binge, in May 2020, to offset the negative impact of streaming services on demand for its own services. Older demographics are the largest consumers of television. These consumers have been slower in adopting new technologies like SVOD. Additionally, retired consumers spend more time at home and watch more television compared to working consumers.

Free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters are relying more on programs that consumers prefer to watch live, like sports and reality TV. SVOD services have yet to delve extensively into live content, allowing broadcasters to capture and sustain attention from this market. However, over the past five years, even this advantage has been slowly eroded. For instance, the subscription streaming service Kayo Sports, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foxtel, launched in November 2018, offering both live and on-demand sports video. Additionally, free-to-air channels have moved more content online to meet consumer demand, which has further reduced the amount of time Australians spend watching television. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts that the average time Australians spend watching free-to-air and subscription TV every day will drop at a compound annual rate of 6.2% over the five years through 2025-26.