In a June 2025 post to the FSF Blog, I noted that streaming video had achieved a remarkable milestone: for the first time, it surpassed cable and broadcast television combined, capturing 44.8 percent of total viewing in May 2025. That trend continues. According to Nielsen's January edition of The Gauge™, streaming video's viewing share reached 47.5 percent in December 2025, setting yet another record. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that, on two separate occasions, it represented over half of daily video consumption.
But the story of shifting consumer preferences extends beyond the longstanding streaming-versus-traditional-distribution-platforms narrative. An equally significant transformation is underway as social-media platforms – TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and so on – increasingly capture consumer attention with short-form content, particularly among younger demographics.
According to a Digiday article citing a report by GCI (subscription required), global consumers on average spend a tremendous amount of time each week watching short-form video content on social-media platforms: six hours and 39 minutes. In fact, the amount of time global consumers spend accessing such content significantly exceeds the amount of time they view streaming video: 5 hours. This represents a fundamental realignment in how people – especially younger generations – consume video.
These twin trends carry significant implications for communications policy. Indeed, the (1) ongoing ascendance of streaming video over legacy distribution platforms, and (2) explosive growth of short-form video underscore what I and others affiliated with the Free State Foundation long have argued: that the video marketplace is intensely competitive and consumer-driven. Consequently, legacy regulations born of a bygone era interfere with marketplace mechanics and artificially constrain competition-fueled growth in consumer welfare.
This reality is particularly relevant in the context of the FCC's ongoing review of the proposed transaction between Charter Communications, Inc. and Cox Enterprises, Inc., currently on day 101 (out of 180) according to the Commission's informal timeline. As the Free State Foundation noted in its comments, the combination of these geographically distinct distribution platforms appears likely to benefit video subscribers, in particular the Cox customers who would gain access to Charter's packages bundled with popular streaming options (HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, and ESPN Unlimited, among others).
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