Decrease in Streaming VOD and Linear TV Usage Observed in North America According to Research
NPAW's 1H 2025 Report: Global Streaming Trends and Quality Improvements
The latest report from NPAW, a leading video analytics company, reveals insights into the streaming industry's regional variations and quality improvements.
Regional Viewing Patterns
The average time spent streaming has shown regional variation. North America maintains one of the highest average viewing times globally, with some other regions showing varied but growing consumption patterns. For instance, the first half of 2025 saw a decrease in the average time spent streaming both linear and on-demand content in North America.
Device Preferences
Device preferences in North America continue to favor smart TVs as the primary streaming device, while mobile and tablet consumption remain strong in other regions like Asia and Latin America. The report highlights that the device share is dominated by TVs and Set Top Boxes, with the top 2 device types accounting for more than 87% of viewership, indicating a preference for large screens for lengthy viewing.
Quality KPIs
Improvements across all regions indicate an industry-wide focus on enhancing streaming quality. North America reports the best metrics in startup times and lowest buffering rates, making for a smoother viewer experience. Global VOD quality is on the rise, with improvements in average bitrate, join time, and buffer ratio (%) seen in almost all regions.
The report emphasized the importance of TV viewing, with TVs holding the highest share of viewing among devices. Quality metrics on Smart TVs and Set Top Boxes were greatly improved over H1 2024. Linear TV global quality shows solid improvements, with major gains in average join time, buffer ratio (%) and average bitrate.
Engagement Trends
On Smart TVs and Set Top Boxes, there was greater engagement for both video-on-demand (69%) and linear TV (87%). However, global VOD engagement decreased compared to H1 2024, with a slight dip in average playtime per user and titles per user per day.
Ferran G. Vilaro, CEO and co-founder of NPAW, stated that the data shows wider adoption of Smart TVs and Set Top Boxes as the devices of choice for viewers. The NPAW report for the first half of 2025 highlighted some improvements in quality KPIs (key performance indicators). LATAM, the Middle East, and North America showed the greatest gains in Buffer Ratio quality, Avg. Bitrate, and Join Times.
In conclusion, the NPAW's 1H 2025 report provides valuable insights into the streaming industry's trends and improvements. The report underscores the growing preference for smart TVs and Set Top Boxes, the focus on enhancing streaming quality, and the regional variations in viewing patterns. For precise metrics or regional breakdowns, consulting the official NPAW report or their press release is recommended.
- The report from NPAW, a leading video analytics company, underscores the growing preference for smart TVs and Set Top Boxes in the streaming industry, particularly in North America.
- The industry-wide focus on enhancing streaming quality is evident in the improvements across all regions, such as reduced buffering rates in North America and increased average bitrate in global VOD.
- The report highlights the importance of data-and-cloud-computing technology in streaming, as it contributes to the optimization and processing of video content, streaming, and infrastructure.
- The trend of OTT media consumption continues to expand, with device preferences favoring smart TVs in North America and mobile and tablet usage remaining strong in regions like Asia and Latin America.
- The quality of linear TV has also improved globally, with solid gains in average join time, buffer ratio (%) and average bitrate, primarily on Smart TVs and Set Top Boxes.
- Engagement trends show greater engagement for both video-on-demand and linear TV on Smart TVs and Set Top Boxes, while global VOD engagement experienced a slight dip in average playtime per user and titles per user per day compared to H1 2024.
