Subscription TV Hits Record High While Video Streaming and Sports Betting Slip Despite Product Improvements, ACSI Data Show

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The entertainment industry that consumers spent a decade abandoning now posts the strongest customer satisfaction gains of any measured in this year's study.

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Entertainment Study 2026, subscription TV service reaches its highest score since ACSI began measuring the industry, climbing 3% to an ACSI score of 72 (on a scale of 0-100) as every customer experience benchmark improves year over year. Video streaming service slips 1% to 77, and online sports betting and iGaming falls 3% to 74, even as both industries post improvements across content, platform performance, and app quality. Social media rises 1% to 75, the industry's highest score since ACSI began measuring it in 2010, and audio streaming service debuts at 80, the highest industry score of the five.

The results arrive during a period of rising subscription costs and mounting consumer fatigue. Deloitte's 2026 Digital Media Trends survey found that 73% of streaming consumers are frustrated with rising prices, around 40% cancel at least one paid service each year, and 61% say they would cancel their favorite service if monthly costs rose by just $5. The average subscribing household spends $69 per month on four streaming video services.

“Content and technology improved across the board this year, yet in most of these industries, satisfaction still declined or barely moved. That's because a better product is the baseline now; it doesn't move the needle,” said Forrest Morgeson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI. “What moves satisfaction is making the whole experience simpler. Fewer accounts, easier billing, less time managing subscriptions. Subscription TV figured that out. Video streaming and sports betting are still adding features while customers are asking for less complexity. Until that changes, more features won't translate into higher satisfaction.”

Other key takeaways from the study include:

Video Streaming Service

• Amazon Prime Video (unchanged), Paramount+ (down 1%), YouTube Premium (down 1%), and debuting Pluto TV share the top position in a four-way tie at 79. The Roku Channel enters at 78 and Tubi at 77, matching or beating several paid subscription services.
• Content benchmarks post the industry's strongest gains, led by variety of movies by category (up 5% to 81) and ease of using on-screen menus and programming guides (up 4% to 84). Price tolerance, loyalty, and service reliability all weaken.
• ESPN+ climbs 4% to 72 after ESPN launched its direct-to-consumer service in August 2025. Netflix slips 1% to 78 after raising its standard ad-free plan 16% to $17.99. Apple TV+ drops 3% to 75 following a 30% price increase to $12.99.
• Cord-stackers — consumers who maintain both streaming and subscription TV — remain the most satisfied segment at 80, while cord-nevers who have only ever streamed score the lowest at 75.

Subscription TV Service

• Verizon Fios (up 1%) holds the top position at 79. Frontier Communications jumps 10% to 74, the largest brand gain across all five industries, capping a period in which Frontier invested $4.1 billion in fiber upgrades before completing its $20 billion acquisition by Verizon in January 2026. Xfinity climbs 6% to 72.
• HD picture quality, picture quality, mobile app quality, and mobile app reliability all reach 83. TV signal reliability climbs 5% to 81. Call center satisfaction rises 6% to 72, still the industry's lowest-rated benchmark but its fastest-improving one.
• YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DIRECTV-Streaming move into the subscription TV category from video streaming, while Fubo debuts. Customer retention, loyalty, and price tolerance all strengthen substantially.

Audio Streaming Service

• Pandora leads the debut category at 82, with strong performances across music library, content curation, usability, reliability, and sound quality. Apple Music follows at 81, with Spotify and Amazon Music at the industry average of 80. SoundCloud trails at 73.
• Quality of mobile app tops all customer experience benchmarks at 86. Podcast-related measures sit at the bottom of the chart, with depth of podcast library last at 74.
• Paid single-user subscribers report the highest satisfaction at 84, while users who receive audio streaming bundled with another service score the lowest at 74.

Online Sports Betting and iGaming

• DraftKings (down 5%), BetMGM (down 4%), and FanDuel (down 3%) converge at 74, collapsing the 9-point spread that separated the field a year ago. Caesars climbs 3% to 71 and theScore Bet debuts at 71 after PENN Entertainment ended its ESPN BET partnership in December 2025.
• Loading speed and variety of wagering options each jump 4% to 79, and privacy holds the top benchmark position at 80, yet satisfaction declines as expectations outpace delivery. Operators cut promotional spending 20% year over year as the industry matures, according to Legal Sports Report.
• Customers using both sportsbook and casino products score 78, ahead of sportsbook-only users (75) and casino-only users (70). DraftKings announced plans for a unified super app in March 2026, consolidating sportsbook, casino, lottery, and prediction market products behind a single account.
• Car racing bettors (82) report the highest satisfaction of any sport; NBA bettors (76) report the lowest.

Social Media

• YouTube (up 1%) takes the top position at 79. Bluesky falls 11% to 73 after debuting at 82 a year ago, the largest brand movement in the study. Facebook and Truth Social each climb 3% to 72. Twitch drops 5% to 70.
• Loading speed and reliability posts the strongest benchmark gain, jumping 5% to 82. Every advertising-related measure improves, led by trustworthiness of ads (up 4% to 72) and privacy (up 4% to 75). Perceived value strengthens substantially as users report a better return on the time they spend.

The ACSI Entertainment Study 2026 is based on 30,886 completed surveys. Customers were chosen at random and contacted via email between July 2025 and June 2026, with a shortened period for audio streaming service to establish a baseline for future measurement. Download the full study and follow the ACSI on LinkedIn.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.

About the ACSI

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI^®) is a national economic indicator and a leading provider of customer analytics products that help organizations build lasting customer relationships and prove ROI on experience investments. ACSI’s AI-enhanced platform delivers intuitive dashboards and cause-and-effect analytics that pinpoint the quality drivers most predictive of customer allegiance, retention, price tolerance, and financial performance. ACSI data has been shown to correlate strongly with key micro and macroeconomic indicators, including consumer spending, GDP growth, earnings, and stock returns.

Founded in 1994 at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, the ACSI measures customer satisfaction with more than 400 companies in over 40 industries, including federal government services, based on approximately 200,000 annual interviews. Learn more at https://www.theacsi.com/.

ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.