# A quick look at US media consumption habits in 2021

- URL: https://www.askattest.com/blog/research/a-quick-look-at-us-media-consumption-habits-in-2021
- Published: 2021-09-28
- Updated: 2026-05-02
- Description: Want to know where to spend your ad budget to reach your target audience? We have the answers!

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We’ve just launched our [US Media Consumption Report for 2021](https://www.askattest.com/our-research/us-media-consumption-report-2021-2), revealing more seismic shifts in what American eyes and ears are tuning into!

For brands trying to navigate the second coming of the ‘Roaring 20s’, a digital ad spend boom, and a general fatigue for bad news, our report points to a significant decrease in our desire to sit in front of a TV screen for prolonged periods of time.

The report delves into Americans’ habits across television, audio, news and social media, and its main findings are:

**Streaming TV overtakes live**

- For the first time since this report was launched in 2019, the proportion of Americans who **stream TV content (82.8%) daily** has surpassed those who watch live TV (81%).

![](https://emx2zzfzxax.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/US-Media-Consumption-Report-2021_4-1024x631.jpg?strip=all)Summary of Millennials’ TV habits in 2021**Decrease in bingeing of TV**

- As the Great Reopening has gained pace this year, binge-watching of both live TV and streaming content has seen marked declines. While Netflix still dominates streaming, the percentage of people engaging in five-hour+ bingeing sessions on streaming platforms is **down from 25.9% in 2020 to just 12.4% in 2021**.
- Meanwhile, nearly one in five consumers **(19%) say they now watch no live TV** in 2021, versus 14% in 2020.

**Social is America’s favorite media to engage with**

- **92.6% of Americans log onto social media daily**, making it the country’s most popular medium. This is followed by streaming TV services (82.8%) and music streaming (81.1%).

**Turning off the news & escaping reality**

- The research highlights a **collapse in consumers watching TV news**, potentially caused by pandemic fatigue and the conclusion of the Presidential election, with just under a third of Americans (31.8%) regularly tuning into news content in 2021, compared to 46.3% in 2020.
- This escape from reality is borne out by Americans saying comedy (51.1%), drama (49.8%) and crime (42.3%) programs are their favorite types of TV shows.

![](https://emx2zzfzxax.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/US-Media-Consumption-Report-–-2021-final_3-copy-724x1024-1.jpg?strip=all&w=1920)Find out how and where to find your target customers in 2021 and beyond![](https://emx2zzfzxax.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/US-Media-Consumption-Report-–-2021.jpg?strip=all&w=1920)Get the latest US media consumption trends

Here are the latest trends in TV, streaming, radio, gaming and more to help you target your customers in 2021 and beyond

[Read the report](https://www.askattest.com/our-research/us-media-consumption-report-2021-2)