Living Room Study: The big screen dominates in Europe

RTL AdAlliance has published the fifth edition of its annual "Living Room Study". The survey by RTL Group's international marketer shows: The living room shapes viewing habits. 83% of Europeans consume video content there most frequently, well ahead of the bedroom with 46%. Compared to other markets, there are remarkable differences in Europe. The preference for the living room is 25 percentage points higher in Europe than in the United States (58%).

More than 15,000 people in 17 markets were surveyed for the study, including China and Hungary for the first time. The data was collected by the opinion research institute Norstat from January 19 to February 4, 2026. Participants aged between 18 and 64 from 15 European markets - including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Hungary - as well as from the USA and China took part.

Streaming shifts to the television

90% of Europeans have a TV at home and 64% watch video content on their TV every day - significantly more than in the United States (minus 23 percentage points) and China (minus 24 percentage points). What once began as a trend among younger viewers is now being used across all generations, according to the study. Streaming content, which was previously mainly associated with mobile use, is increasingly shifting to the TV: 71% use such content at least once a week.

BVOD (Broadcast Video on Demand) has grown by six percentage points since the last issue as the first port of call on the TV and now accounts for 14%. At the same time, 41% of Europeans now watch live content on their TV via BVOD platforms. However, linear television remains the most obvious option on the TV set: 48% of viewers continue to tune in directly.

Different media ecosystems

The comparison between Europe, the United States and China attests to Europe's independent media ecosystem, which has been characterized over many decades by local broadcasting structures, free-to-air television and a strong cultural proximity. Europeans use global streaming platforms primarily for on-demand content, while live events, local programs and shared viewing experiences remain anchored in linear television.

61% of respondents primarily trust linear television when they watch advertising - significantly more than social media (33%) and YouTube (40%). Viewers are aware of the growing fragmentation of the video landscape: they can be found on more and more platforms, their attention span is decreasing and longer content is therefore being cut into short clips. This is a trend that is particularly pronounced in the United States and China, but less so in Europe, where longer formats continue to be watched.

Social media and television complement each other

Nevertheless, social media and television do not work in isolation from each other: 39 percent of 18 to 34-year-old Europeans watch TV programs that they first discovered via social platforms, while 67 percent use social media to discuss what they have seen on television.

At the same time, social media is losing its appeal as a place for genuine interpersonal connections. 73.6 percent of Europeans say that social media has lost its ability to build real social connections - the highest figure among the markets surveyed (72.2 percent in the United States, 59 percent in China).

Stéphane Coruble, CEO RTL AdAlliance, says: "The living room is not losing importance in Europe, on the contrary, it is gaining relevance. Europeans are watching video content on fewer devices, spending more time on what they consciously choose and sticking to formats that are already less in demand in other regions. The contrast with markets such as the US and China is clear and points in the same direction: what Europe has built around its big screen is unique in the world."

The recorded livestream from March 25 and the study white paper are available here: https://rtl-adalliance.com/living-room-study-2026