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July 15, 2026

Total TV is winning and streaming is part of the reason why

The latest national VAM data from Numeris (Spring 2026) confirms what many marketers might not expect: Total TV (linear TV plus broadcaster streaming) remains the dominant video platform for Canadians by a wide margin.

TV leads in reach and time spent – across all demos

Total TV commands 71% share of time spent among Adults 18+, and remains the single largest video source, even among younger adults.

Weekly reach tells the same story: Total TV reaches 81.6% of Canadian adults, 76% more than YouTube (46.1%), almost double Prime Video (43.2%), and more than triple Netflix (24.5%).

Some nuances worth highlighting
  • Broadcaster streaming is ad-supported streaming that delivers. A lot of “streaming reach” is not ad-supported. Prime Video’s 43.2% weekly reach drops to 30.9% ad-supported; Netflix’s 24.5% drops to 10.8%. Total TV is fully ad-supported reaching 81.6% of Canadians each week.
  • Streaming has added to TV viewing, not replaced it. There are more TV-only viewers than streaming-only viewers. A streaming-only media plan meaningfully limits reach.
  • The big screen matters. TV accounts for 81% of all viewing time on a TV / smart TV set, versus just 7% for YouTube. Which matters for marketers trying to make an impact: TV screen ad recall outperforms computers by +34% and mobile by +60%.
  • Canada isn’t the US. While streaming and YouTube together make up over 50% of TV-set viewing time in the US, it accounts for only 20% in Canada – closer to the UK than the US.
  • Resilient while pure-play platforms soften. Reach and time spent dipped slightly from Fall 2025 to Spring 2026 as usual seasonality, but Total TV held its ground with young adults, increasing its weekly reach to 69.8% (from 69% A18–34) while YouTube’s reach among that group slipped (55.1% → 50%).

The takeaway for marketers

Fragmentation continues, but broadcasters meet it head-on with Total TV. Together, linear TV and streaming give marketers the audience attention and mass reach they need, a combination that continues to outperform every standalone streaming platform.

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Source: Numeris VAM, March 2 – May 31, 2026, Total Canada.

Total TV defined as linear TV plus broadcaster streaming services.