New Oztam data shows linear dominating the living room TV
Broadcast television still dominates the family TV set, according to the first “independent survey” of watching habits in Australia across linear, BVOD, and streaming services.
Oztam’s first quarterly Streamscape report was released on Monday morning, and provides a unified view of how Australians consume video across platforms and demographics.
Oztam is jointly owned by the Seven, Nine and Ten networks.
The report covers the first three months of 2025, and only covers connected television sets at this stage, meaning it doesn’t account for laptop, tablet, mobile, or other forms of television or video viewing.
It measures total minutes viewed, and provides a percentage share for each format. The sample size is 5,250 homes, across Australia.
Oztam’s data shows that, on connected TVs, 61.5% of viewing occurs across the linear broadcast TV channels.
Just 8.4% of viewing comes from the local network’s BVOD services — ABC iview, 7plus, 9Now, 10, and SBS On Demand — while the overseas streaming servers and local subscription-based services, such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, account for 30.1% of TV viewing.
Broken down further, Netflix commands 9.3% of viewing, ahead of the world’s biggest video platform Youtube, which accounts for 7.7%.
Disney+ and Amazon’s Prime Video make up 2.3% apiece, while the rest of the streamers, including Paramount+, Stan, Kayo Sports, Apple TV+ and Britbox, account for the remaining 8.5%.
The new metrics will be available quarterly to paid Oztam subscribers, and reporting will “continue to evolve,” according to the company “with future updates set to further expand demographic granularity and incorporate viewing on additional connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers.”
Streamscape will also transition from a static document to a digital, interactive dashboard in the first half of 2026, with cross-referencing functionality.
Oztam CEO, Karen Halligan, called Streamscape is a “game-changer for the industry” in a release announcing the first report.
“For the first time, agencies, marketers and media owners can access consistent, comparable data across platforms in a credible format,” she said.
“It’s a critical step toward more effective planning and provides a deeper understanding of how Australians engage with video. And this is just the beginning – Streamscape will continue to evolve to further meet the needs of our rapidly changing media landscape.”
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Ah yes, the “linear TV is thriving” headline brought to you by a measurement company owned by… linear TV networks. Shocking.
Meanwhile, the reality? The latest IAB Australia Video State of the Nation report shows 71% of buyers increased their investment in digital video last year, and 83% expect to keep shifting spend away from linear TV. Nielsen’s own Streaming Content Ratings show that over 40% of Australian viewing time is now spent on streaming platforms. But sure, tell me more about your 7pm audience that can’t name what’s actually on at 7pm.
In the 90s, you had to plan your night around TV. Now, the TV plans itself around us. The habits haven’t died hard they’ve just evolved. Some folks just prefer to keep selling the past.