Sitting around the television to watch live broadcasts can spark nostalgia for a slower time, though the role of the TV has evolved — and it’s more of an active player in everyday home life.

In February 2025, YouTube reported that it now gets more U.S. viewership on televisions than on mobile devices.¹ Globally, people are streaming more than 1 billion hours a day on YouTube through connected TVs.²

Nearly 80% of U.S. households own a smart TV, which is able to connect to the internet and usually comes with free or paid streaming apps (and the ability to download more).^3,4 In 2020, that number stood at only 66%.

Traditional “channel surfing” on a TV has shifted and is now more about viewers navigating apps to discover content to watch, according to a 2024 study:⁵

• 60% of people identify a streaming platform as their “most used” TV setup, a jump from only 40% in 2020.

• When turning on the television, for 38% of viewers, the first thing they see are apps installed on their smart TV’s home screen. (Only 19% are shown a show in progress from a cable provider.)

• 26% of people choose content recommended on the home screen.

Nearly 2 in 5 Americans (38%) consider a big-screen TV a luxury purchase, according to Empower research, though shifting prices could change that perception.

The cost of televisions dropped 9% year-over-year, based on Consumer Price Index data for March. Some people have spotted the price cut and are stocking up on TVs, as Americans wait to see how sweeping U.S. tariffs will affect their spending and overall inflation.⁶

Connection central

Big events still pull in big TV viewership, with sports leading the way. In 2024, 75% of the 100 most-watched primetime telecasts were of sports, including the NFL, Olympics, NBA Finals, and MLB World Series.⁷

This year’s matchups have seen similar strength in numbers: Super Bowl LIX in February 2025 pulled in 127.7 million viewers — a record for the annual event but also the largest audience for a single-network telecast in TV history.⁸ The men’s championship game of the 2025 March Madness tournament collected 18.1 million viewers on CBS, a 22% jump from last year’s final faceoff.⁹

And the television is growing beyond entertainment to be a household workhorse, acting as a central station for add-ons like smart home assistants, cameras, and an extension of existing connections.

Many Samsung TVs made since 2020 have Amazon’s Alexa assistant built in, and people can give verbal commands to change the channel, play music, get show recommendations, or control other connected devices in the home.¹⁰

Leveraging a TV’s size can also help with expanding smaller-screen tasks. People don’t need to huddle around a phone to show off vacation photos or limit homework time to a laptop — different brands of smart TVs allow for screen mirroring, or displaying what’s on a smaller device onto the big screen.¹¹ Depending on the devices being used, a smart TV can also display security camera footage.¹²

Statement piece

Bulky televisions of the 1990s and earlier could have been seen as an eyesore in the home, though many consumers are now using TVs as a way to add to their aesthetic.

Art TVs entered the scene with Samsung’s The Frame line in 2017, as a way to display digital art exclusively or when the television wasn’t being used otherwise — all wrapped in a decorative border.¹³ In 2021, the company hit a milestone of selling one million Frame televisions within one year.¹⁴ Samsung has its own art store for subscribers — with more than 3,000 works from collections, museums, and artists from around the world.¹⁵

Additional manufacturers now frequently offer this creative outlet via screensaver options, apps, and “art mode,” though tradeoffs may be made around the physical framing or having an anti-glare display, and consumers can buy digital art or find free versions.¹⁶

Powering up

With televisions taking on new functions, what’s next? Artificial intelligence has been the buzz of Wall Street, and TV manufacturers look to accelerate its applications. AI can be used to better customize content recommendations, create comprehensive captioning, and enable a more intuitive remote.¹⁷

As TVs take on a wider role in American life, shoppers should stay tuned for how screens adapt to people’s habits for consuming media and staying in control of their digital lives.