Under-55s watch more streaming services than traditional television broadcasts

According to a consumer survey conducted by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom in late 2025, 40 per cent of younger consumers do not watch traditional television broadcasts at all. Among the oldest consumers, by contrast, 30 per cent do not use streaming services at all. Over the previous three months, 82 per cent of consumers had used a free or paid streaming service.

“The divergence in viewing habits is clearly visible between different age groups. For many people, streaming services are the primary way of following content, while traditional television continues to maintain its position particularly among older age groups,” says Marja Heinonen, Senior Specialist at Traficom.

According to Eurostat, 94 per cent of consumers in Finland watched television or videos online in 2024. This was among the highest shares in the EU, exceeded only by the Netherlands at 96 per cent. The European Union average was significantly lower, at 73 per cent.

Age influences how content is consumed

According to the consumer survey, one fifth of consumers do not watch traditional television broadcasts at all, while 16 per cent do not use online television or streaming services on any device.

When examined by age group, the differences are clear. Among the youngest age group, those aged 18–24, 40 per cent do not watch traditional television broadcasts at all, whereas among the oldest age group, those aged 65–79, the share is only 6 per cent. The situation is reversed for streaming services: only 9 per cent of the youngest age group do not use such services, compared with 30 per cent of the oldest age group.

“Traditional television broadcasts may be watched particularly for certain programmes, for example as part of a weekend family tradition. The use of streaming services, by contrast, is more flexible and varies more from week to week,” Heinonen estimates.
 

On average, consumers under the age of 55 watch streaming services for at least 6 hours per week, while those over 55 watch such services for no more than 4 hours per week. Consumers over the age of 55 watch traditional television broadcasts for an average of at least ten hours per week.

Streaming services have become established

Yle Areena remains the most popular free streaming service, used by 62 per cent of consumers. More than half of consumers used YouTube, while 40 per cent used the free MTV Katsomo service. Ruutu is also widely used.
 

Free streaming services are used particularly for watching recorded programmes, series and films. Such content had been watched by 64 per cent of consumers, while 39 per cent had watched live broadcasts.

In autumn 2025, more than half of consumers had access to a paid streaming service or a free trial period. The use of paid services has increased over the long term, although user numbers have remained relatively stable in recent years.

Streaming service use is spread across multiple platforms

Netflix was the most widely used paid streaming service, used by 30 per cent of consumers. 
 

Many consumers use several streaming services, particularly international ones. Only 8 per cent of consumers subscribed exclusively to domestic streaming services, while 24 per cent used only international services.

Consumers spend EUR 20–40 per month on streaming services

More than one third of consumers estimate that their household spends between EUR 20 and EUR 40 per month on streaming services. On average, monthly spending amounts to EUR 29, while the median expenditure is EUR 20.

 

Service prices vary depending on factors such as picture quality, advertising and subscription type.

According to Statistics Finland, households spent an average of EUR 12 per month on streaming services in 2022, compared with only EUR 7 per month in 2012. Spending has increased significantly over the past decade, reflecting both the growing number of services and rising prices.

Methodology

The survey was conducted by Bilendi Oy as an online survey among 3,000 respondents aged over 18. Of the respondents, 49.6% were men, 50.1% women and 0.3% non-binary. Data collection took place between 28 November and 8 December 2025. The margin of error is ±1.8 percentage points.