Magnite today published survey findings on how Americans watch live streaming and how they respond to the advertising inside it, reporting that respondents accept an average of 8.7 minutes of commercial time per hour of live content and that 69% of those streaming live on connected television watch alongside other people.

The study, titled Inside the Live Experience: Live Viewing Behavior and Ad Engagement in the US, was released from New York on August 20, 2026 through GLOBE NEWSWIRE. It forms the United States edition of a research programme the sell-side company has run across three markets during 2026, alongside separate Australian and New Zealand studies conducted with the same research technology firm, Bounce Insights, and carrying materially different numbers.

What the survey measured

Magnite surveyed 835 American adults aged 18 and over who watch live content through streaming services. The sample skews evenly across age bands: 14% aged 18 to 24, 23% aged 25 to 34, 21% aged 35 to 44, 21% aged 45 to 54 and 21% aged 55 and over. Gender split 49% male and 51% female. Regionally, the South accounts for 39% of respondents, the West 24%, the Midwest 20% and the Northeast 17%.

That screening criterion matters for interpretation. Every respondent already streams live content, so the figures describe behaviour inside an established audience rather than penetration across the general population. Magnite states in the accompanying deck that the study was conducted in partnership with Bounce Insights, which it describes as a global research technology firm. The research is proprietary to Magnite, and the company sells the inventory the findings describe.

Genre reach inside that audience is broad. Over the three months preceding fieldwork, 63% had streamed live sports, 62% live news, 50% live events such as concerts and award shows, and 48% live television shows. Asked where they primarily watch each genre, respondents named streaming ahead of traditional television for live events (55% against 11%), live television shows (53% against 34%), live sports (47% against 14%) and live news (41% against 22%).

Connected television concentrates the live audience

Device data anchors the rest of the findings. According to the research, 92% of respondents use CTV for live streaming, and 75% do so at least once a week. Mobile reaches 82%, though weekly frequency drops to 47%. The two devices split by location: 60% of connected television live viewing happens in a shared home space such as a living room, against 50% for mobile, while mobile leads in private rooms (58% against 54%), on public transport (28% against 9%), in cafes and similar venues (29% against 12%) and at work (23% against 8%).

Co-viewing follows from that. Among respondents streaming live on connected television, 69% always or often watch with other people, and the average live stream on that device is watched with three others. Live sports carries the highest shared-viewing rate at 64%, followed by live events at 54%, live television shows at 53% and live news at 43%.

The measurement problem this creates is not new. Google shifted its own reach metrics to a total co-view definition on June 2, 2026, expanding reported unique users and thinning frequency per person without any change to delivery. A VAB and TVision study published in February 2026 measured co-viewing at 60% of impressions on premium video platforms against 45% on YouTube. Magnite's 69% figure sits above both, but it counts self-reported behaviour among live viewers specifically rather than measured impressions across all content.

Tolerance for advertising is the sharpest number

The most operationally useful figure in the study is the ad load one. Asked to compare live content with on-demand, 79% of respondents said they would accept the same number of advertisements per hour or more. Pressed on a specific ceiling, the average tolerance came to 8.7 minutes of advertising per hour of live content.

Format preference within that window tilts short. Forty-one percent prefer 15-second spots, 36% prefer 30 seconds, 14% prefer 60 seconds and 9% state no preference.

Recall data supports the receptivity claim, at least in the direction Magnite argues. Two-thirds of respondents, 66%, could remember an advertisement from their most recent live viewing session. Food and beverage led the recalled categories at 46%, ahead of retail at 32%, entertainment and media at 29% and automotive at 28%. Financial services placed last of the ten categories measured, at 15%.

Brand perception effects were also measured. Fifty-seven percent said brands advertising during a live stream read as more premium, and 51% said they read as more trustworthy. The ranked attribute list, ordered by number of selections, runs popular, high quality, established, relevant and financially strong.

Streaming services scored highest on trust to deliver a high-quality live viewing experience, at 73%, ahead of traditional television at 68% and video-sharing platforms at 63%. Against traditional television specifically, respondents rated streaming better on variety of content (61%), video quality and reliability (58%), overall viewing experience (56%), ease of finding live content (53%) and advertising experience (48%).

Shoulder content is where Magnite makes its case

The framing Magnite chose for the release centres on shoulder content: the previews, build-up shows, analysis and highlights packages that surround a live event. Forty-six percent regularly watch pre-event coverage, and 48% regularly watch post-event coverage. Half of respondents, 49%, typically use streaming services for that surrounding content, while 39% use podcasts, sports applications or websites.

The engagement pattern shifts by phase. Before an event, browsing social media leads at 50% and watching highlights follows at 42%. During the event, discussion with others rises to 29% while social browsing drops to 33%. Afterwards, highlights lead at 46%, social browsing at 40% and discussion at 33%.

Magnite reports that advertising placed across both the live stream and the surrounding content increased memorability for 69% of respondents, purchase intent for 59%, and perceptions and trust for 57% each. The press release states that 59% say advertising across both live and shoulder content increases their likelihood to purchase from a brand.

"What this research illustrates is that the opportunity around live streaming doesn't begin and end with the main event," said Mike Dupree, SVP, Demand at Magnite. "The content surrounding live programming is an increasingly important part of the viewing experience and extends engagement beyond the broadcast itself. As audiences also tune into more types of live content and view advertising in these environments as relevant and trustworthy, there's significant potential for brands to build reach and impact across the full live window."

Second screening feeds the commerce case

Fifty-five percent of respondents always or often use a second screen while streaming live content on a television. Of the use cases measured, internet browsing tied to brand research reached 48%, social media tied to brand amplification 47%, messaging tied to brand discussion 45%, and online shopping 24%.

That last figure is the one Magnite connects to shoppable ads. Awareness of the format stands at 53%, against 33% for pause advertisements and 100% for traditional in-stream breaks. Likelihood to engage runs the other way: 50% for shoppable, 49% for in-stream and 43% for pause.

Among respondents aware of each format, the funnel data shows shoppable advertisements producing search or discussion for 55%, a save or click for 48%, and a cart addition or purchase for 38%. Pause advertisements returned 50%, 47% and 33%. Traditional in-stream breaks returned 43%, 35% and 27%. Magnite reports that 55% of all such actions occur during or immediately after the live stream.

The second-screen friction those numbers describe has been an active engineering target across the sector. Samsung Ads introduced remote-based commerce inside Samsung TV Plus advertisements in June 2026, and YouTube used its May 2026 Brandcast event to introduce two-click checkout through Google Pay on connected televisions. Research published in July found 43% of connected television buyers uncertain about where their advertisements actually ran, with limited shoppable format scale named as a barrier by 45% of buyers in retail, consumer packaged goods, fashion and consumer electronics.

Emerging live formats and genre economics

Beyond the four core genres, the study measured newer live categories. Half of respondents had streamed live gaming in the previous three months, 31% live shopping and 21% live auctions or product drops. Action rates were comparable across the three: 24% for gaming, 28% for shopping and 27% for auctions.

Willingness to pay separates the genres more clearly. Sixty-six percent said they would pay more for a service carrying live sports, 63% for live events, 59% for live television shows and 54% for live news. The average monthly increase respondents accepted was $7.46 for sports, $6.93 for events, $6.35 for television shows and $5.80 for news. Sixty-seven percent said the availability of live content makes a streaming service more valuable overall.

Asked where brands get the most impact, respondents named live sports at 51%, ahead of live events and live news at 34% each, on-demand films and television shows at 31% and live television shows at 29%.

Motivations differ by genre in ways that carry creative implications. Real-time results ranked first for sports, events and television shows. Staying informed ranked first for news, with habit or routine third. For live events, feeling part of a shared cultural moment ranked second. For live television shows, spoiler avoidance ranked third.

Generative AI sentiment splits on disclosure

The study includes a section on generative artificial intelligence in advertising creative. Eighty percent of respondents said they are open to brands using AI to make the advertising experience more personalised. Seventy-eight percent said AI-generated commercials would not negatively affect their perception of a brand. Fifty-seven percent said such advertisements can be as engaging as traditional ones.

The transparency figure runs against that. Seventy-one percent said they would prefer brands to disclose when an advertisement has been created with generative AI.

That preference lands in a live regulatory and self-regulatory argument. The IAB published version 2 of its AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework on August 18, 2026, citing an NYU Stern finding that disclosure cut click-through rates by 31.5% and using that cost to argue against blanket labelling. The January 2026 edition of the same framework documented a 37-point gap between advertiser assumptions and Gen Z consumer sentiment on AI-made advertising. Magnite's data adds a live-streaming-specific reading, though the two questions are not identical: preferring disclosure is not the same as reducing purchase likelihood in its absence.

Three markets, three different pictures

The Australian and New Zealand editions of the same study, both conducted with Bounce Insights and both dated 2026, produce materially lower numbers on nearly every measure. That divergence is the most useful part of the material for anyone planning across markets.

The Australian survey covered 884 adults; the New Zealand survey covered 899. Connected television penetration for live streaming reaches 89% in Australia and 80% in New Zealand, against 92% in the United States. Co-viewing on that device sits at 63% in both antipodean markets, against 69% in the United States, with the same average of three other viewers.

Ad load tolerance narrows southward: 75% of Australians and 73% of New Zealanders accept the same number of advertisements per hour or more in live content, against 79% in the United States. The stated minute ceilings run 7.9 in Australia and 7.6 in New Zealand, against 8.7 in the United States.

Shoulder content shows the widest gap. Regular pre-event viewing reaches 46% in the United States but only 32% in Australia and 29% in New Zealand. Post-event figures follow the same pattern at 48%, 33% and 32%. Advertisement recall from the last live session runs 66% in the United States, 47% in Australia and 41% in New Zealand.

Brand perception effects compress accordingly. The premium read on brands advertising in live streams stands at 57% in the United States, 42% in Australia and 39% in New Zealand. The trustworthy read stands at 51%, 38% and 36%.

Live news is the sharpest structural difference. Australians name traditional television as their primary destination for live news at 51%, against 25% who name streaming. In the United States the ratio inverts, with 41% naming streaming and 22% traditional television. New Zealand sits between the two, at 38% traditional and 34% streaming.

The New Zealand deck also carries sport-level detail absent from the other markets. Rugby union reaches 68% of live stream sports viewers there, ahead of rugby league at 64%, football at 54% and cricket at 53%. Rugby union also ranks first as a premium environment for advertisers at 75%, while boxing and mixed martial arts rank first on stated purchase intent at 44%.

Why the numbers matter for media planning

Live inventory has become the contested ground in streaming. Freewheel data covering the second half of 2025 found 57% of digital video advertisement views occurred in live programming, including free ad-supported channels. VAB research published on July 1, 2026 found NFL streaming reaching 76% of sports streamers, up from 68% two years earlier.

Magnite has spent eighteen months building infrastructure around exactly the window this research describes. Live Scheduler entered the SpringServe platform on November 18, 2025, standardising how media owners publish event name, timing, league, broadcaster and concurrency estimates to buyers. A technical guide published on March 9, 2026 ahead of the FIFA World Cup set out how Live Stream Acceleration handles the bid volume spikes that concentrated audiences generate. The commercial stakes are visible in the company's own accounts: connected television contribution excluding traffic acquisition costs grew 36% year on year to $97.1 million in the second quarter of 2026, after crossing half of total contribution for the first time in the first quarter.

That alignment is worth stating plainly. The recommendations appended to each deck advise planning beyond sports, treating live streaming as a premium brand environment, amplifying reach through co-viewing and extending campaigns across pre-event, live and post-event content. Each maps onto inventory and tooling Magnite sells. The findings are self-reported survey responses rather than measured exposure or verified purchase behaviour, and the commissioning party has a direct commercial interest in the conclusion.

The methodology gap between the press release and the underlying deck is worth noting as well. The release describes a survey of "over 800 Americans" and characterises connected television use as "nearly all respondents"; the deck states a sample of 835 and a figure of 92%. Neither statement is inaccurate, but the rounded framing sits at the generous end of the data.

What the numbers do establish, independent of the commercial framing, is a set of planning parameters that were previously estimated rather than measured in this population: a stated commercial ceiling near nine minutes an hour, a co-viewing multiplier of roughly four people per connected television live stream, and a shoulder-content audience roughly half the size of the main-event audience. Those figures are testable against measured delivery data, and the gap between stated tolerance and observed behaviour is where the next round of measurement work sits.

Timeline

Summary

Who: Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the largest independent sell-side advertising company, with fieldwork executed by research technology firm Bounce Insights. Mike Dupree, SVP, Demand at Magnite, provided the company's comment on the findings.

What: Publication of Inside the Live Experience: Live Viewing Behavior and Ad Engagement in the US, a proprietary survey of 835 American adults aged 18 and over who watch live content through streaming services. Headline findings include 92% connected television usage for live streaming, 69% co-viewing among those users with an average of three other viewers, stated tolerance for 8.7 minutes of advertising per hour, 66% advertisement recall from the last live session, 46% and 48% regular viewing of pre-event and post-event coverage, and 55% second-screen use with 24% shopping online during live viewing.

When: Released on Thursday, August 20, 2026 from New York through GLOBE NEWSWIRE. Companion editions covering Australia (884 respondents) and New Zealand (899 respondents) were produced during 2026 under the same methodology.

Where: The United States sample spans four census regions, weighted toward the South at 39%. The Australian and New Zealand editions cover their respective national markets.

Why: The findings sit at the point where live streaming inventory, co-viewing measurement and shoppable format development converge. Magnite is the commissioning party and sells the inventory the study describes, which places the recommendations appended to the deck in direct alignment with its own product line. The three-market comparison is the more durable contribution: ad tolerance, shoulder-content viewing and advertisement recall all fall substantially outside the United States, which complicates any single global planning assumption for live streaming campaigns.