Horowitz survey finds drop in antenna use as streaming rises

A new consumer study from Horowitz Research reports a continued decline in traditional television access in U.S. homes, with a significant rise in streaming services. The findings were published in the firm’s “State of Media, Entertainment, and Tech: Subscriptions 2025” report.

According to the data, only 19% of households had access to live TV channels via an antenna in 2025, down from 32% in 2020.

Homes with multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) subscriptions fell from 81% to 44% during the same period.

Meanwhile, subscriptions to streaming video on demand (SVOD) services increased from 70% of homes in 2020 to 81% in 2025. Free streaming service usage grew from 52% to 70%.

Virtual MVPDs, such as Sling TV and YouTube TV, also experienced a decrease, from 29% to 23% of homes between 2020 and 2025.

The research shows a shift in household content consumption.

In 2015, 47% of households subscribed only to a pay TV service. By 2025, that figure dropped to 11%. In contrast, households with only streaming services rose to 49%, compared to 7% in 2015. Households with both streaming and pay TV fell from 40% in 2015 to 33% in 2025. The number of homes with no video subscription stayed nearly unchanged, from 6% to 7%.

Antenna usage varied by income and age. Households with incomes below $50,000 were more likely to use antennas (26%) than those earning above $100,000 (9%). Usage was higher among those aged 50 and older (26%) and significantly lower among 18- to 34-year-olds (10%).

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The report is based on a survey of 2,200 U.S. adults conducted in January and February 2025. Participants were decision-makers for subscription services in their homes, and the data were weighted to reflect the overall U.S. population.