TV viewing figures remain steady whilst streaming figures show a slowdown; Mediaset leads the way in video
Listening figures have remained largely stable. However, the number of cancellations from the platforms is on the rise
Most forecasts pointed in this direction: television was set to give way. But instead, good old TV is holding its own. Meanwhile, it is streaming that is having to contend with less loyal subscribers. As for on-demand viewing of traditional TV, there are signs of a decline that broadcasters, first and foremost, will need to address.
This picture is painted by two different analyses, which ultimately complement one another. Studio Frasi’s analysis of Auditel data highlights the resilience of television: in the first 280 days of the year, nearly 40 million people switched on their televisions for at least one minute every day. The average time spent in front of the screen is four hours and three minutes across the entire population. ‘All things considered, general-interest television is not only holding its own, but on average takes up more time than almost all other forms of media consumption,’ observes Francesco Siliato, a media analyst at Studio Frasi. The weak point remains the age of the audience: an average of sixty years for general-interest viewers.
Young people mainly tune in to watch sport and major events. Yet it is precisely they who are driving an alternative way of using the television, which falls under the ‘unrecognised’ category that is on the rise: in the first month of the new season alone, viewing figures “not recognised” by Auditel rose by +6.9% to 4.33 million, whilst “recognised” viewing figures fell by 1.8%, though still stood at 18.24 million during prime time. ‘It is a mistake to attribute all unrecognised viewing figures to streaming platforms. Connectable “TVs or games consoles” are the second-largest category, after “smart TVs”, with 716,000 people in prime time. The time they spend watching television (the period here runs from January to 10 October) is two hours and 21 minutes. In light of these figures, it is reasonable to assume that these are young people engrossed in video games rather than viewers of streaming platforms.”
A separate study, ‘Reinvent for Growth’ by Accenture, measures consumers’ stated choices: out of 6,000 respondents across ten markets, it emerges that in Italia one in two has cancelled at least two streaming subscriptions in the last year. “Our research highlights how Italians are becoming increasingly selective in their consumption choices,” says Marco Addino, Communications, Media & Technology Lead at Accenture Italia. “In a market that for years has primarily rewarded scale, relevance is now the true distinguishing factor.”
A key area of focus now is the on-demand viewing of traditional programmes via platforms such as Rai Play or Mediaset Infinity. The figures are surprisingly down. The only exception to this trend is Mediaset, which, between 1 September and 14 October, recorded 1.55 billion video views, compared with 482.6 million for Sky and 433.4 million for Rai. The Cologno-based group – which, in the annual audience figures, remains ahead of Rai, with Canale 5 ahead of Rai 1, despite a slow start to the season as reported by *Il Sole 24 Ore* on 15 October – also leads in terms of online viewing time: 125.5 million hours compared with 87.3 million hours for Rai and 50.8 million for Sky. Auditel figures compiled by the Frasi consultancy for 2026 (up to 10 October in this case) show that the Cologno-based group’s time-shifted viewing figures rose by 0.6 per cent, compared with a fall of 5.4 per cent for Rai, -1.7 per cent for Sky Italia and -30.4 per cent for Warner Bros Discovery.
