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Today's Media Fragmentation: What audiences behavior reveals?
- Marca Marketing
- Oct 13
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 24
The boom of digital streaming services and social media expands the total media options available to audiences, representing a significant challenge for brands and marketers to identify where their audience is hanging out. In addition, the US Hispanic market; a powerful and influential consumer (1/5 of the US Population) —is reason enough for Bad Bunny to address the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show in Spanish for the first time at the most-watched sports event on US television.
Why? The era of “one-size-fits-all” campaigns doesn't fit anymore; is over! If you want to be tactical and accurate in your media strategies, pay attention to the insights that your audience reveals.
Grab your audience's attention through
Media Fragmentation
1. TV/Video (Streaming, Live & TV)
According to Nielsen’s The Gauge snapshot, methodology for measuring audience viewing behavior, streaming reached a historic milestone this year, representing 46% of total TV viewership. The top three streaming platforms—YouTube, Disney, and Netflix—account for 32% of all streaming participation. In comparison, broadcast television (19%) and cable (23%) together contribute 42% of TV viewership. Other sources represent the remaining 12%. Additional data reveals that Gen X, Millennials & Gen Z are increasing their focus on streaming content. At the same time, Baby Boomers continue to prefer traditional Broadcast & Cable TV. However, it's crucial to note that Gen Z, the largest generation in history, reports no daily live TV viewing.
As you will notice, YouTube dominates the streaming market, upgrading its offer with live news, sports, and on-demand shows. An interesting finding is that more Americans today prefer watching YouTube on their Smart TV than on their cellphone, except among Gen Z (mobile-first preference). And, of course, Gen Alpha, who are growing up with this platform, learning to recognize, connect, and engage with YouTube on their parents' cellphones through cartoon content when parents need to keep their children quiet —sounds familiar?
So, if you want your brand on Spotlight, it’s time to invest in YouTube. In addition, build a call-to-action strategy for your channel and leverage it with exclusive content that entices your audience's niche to hang out there. Another key idea for marketing efforts is to merge email marketing & YouTube strategy, including video links in your email communication, to increase your channel visits. However, it’s crucial to review your YouTube analytics to adjust your channel's content based on your audience's responses.
2. Digital (Internet, Social Media & Online news)
As we know, TikTok is booming as a top-trending platform that is changing the social commerce experience. The reality is that Facebook continues to lead the social media market, followed by YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp & TikTok (as the top 5 worldwide platforms). TikTok resonates with shoppers of all ages, but it's a powerful opportunity to connect with younger, digitally savvy shoppers—43% of Millennials' and Gen Z's online purchases are made via smartphone apps.
According to the 2024 HubSpot Media survey, 1 to 5 marketers are considering cutting their investment to Facebook, and especially to those who manage B2B companies are directing their investment to these platforms (in sequence): TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X, contrary to those marketers that works for B2C companies are considering keep the Facebook investment, but in a minor scale. Still, if you want to build a strong and effective online community, focus on YouTube & Instagram. Also, it’s essential to note that Meta remains a powerful social media platform for businesses and has continued to expand its platform portfolio to stay competitive.
Two key takeaways: First, if your market audience is younger, it's imperative to optimize your mobile site experience before implementing any call-to-action strategy (from social media to e-commerce). And a second fantastic finding to leverage your advertising, as well as to support the first media fragmentation, is that a majority of Gen Zs and millennials prefer getting recommendations for TV shows and movies through social media rather than from streaming video services.
3. Audio (Radio, Music Streaming & Podcast)
Music, the G.O.A.T. connector. Indeed, listening time is rising; Americans spend more than 4 hours listening to audio each day. Based on the U.S audio listening trends by Nielsen. Today, consumers spend nearly 70% of their daily ad-supported audio time on radio (OTA & streaming combined) , 20% on podcasts, and the rest on streaming audio (music services) or satellite radio (select channels). Radio accounts for anywhere from 47% of daily ad-supported audio time among people 18-34 to 73% among 35+. So, as marketers, we still have a tremendous opportunity to advertise. Meanwhile, podcasts are the inverse, accounting for 15% of daily audio time among people 35 and older, compared with 32% among those 18-34.
According to the 2025 Global Music report,Streaming continues to grow in popularity worldwide – exceeding US$20 billion for the first time - and Subscription streaming revenues accounted for over 50% of global recorded music revenues in 2024. Spotify continues to lead with over 365 million monthly active users across more than 180 countries as of Q2 2025, ahead of Apple, Amazon, and YouTube Music in reported paid subscribers.
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