CAPTURING ATTENTION IN A HYBRID VIDEO LANDSCAPE
As audiences continue to fragment their attention across platforms and environments, premium video remains one of the few channels capable of delivering scale, attention and emotional impact. Broadcasters are responding with renewed confidence and ambition, leaning into live sport, distinctive local formats and smarter use of YouTube, while the growth of ad-supported SVOD signals the next phase of premium video monetisation.
Cinema plays a complementary role within this evolving ecosystem, offering a uniquely immersive, high-attention environment that concentrates audiences around cultural moments. Together, these channels are reshaping how broadcasters, cinemas and advertisers connect with audiences across an increasingly hybrid video landscape.
Broadcasters Double Down on Live Content and Local Ambition
Television continues to demonstrate its resilience in an ever-evolving video landscape. While total viewing dipped slightly in a year without major summer sport, broadcasters once again proved their ability to unite the nation when the right content connects.
The standout success of 2025, The Traitors Ireland, was the most-watched programme outside of live sport and The Late Late Toy Show. Its exceptional engagement and broad appeal reaffirm that strong, locally produced storytelling can still cut through in an era of limitless choice. Its renewal for 2026 gives broadcasters a valuable franchise capable of anchoring schedules, attracting younger viewers and sparking cross-platform conversation.
Commercially, the market remained solid. Despite declines in linear minutes, total impacts were stable, rising 1% among Adults aged 15–34 and flat year-on-year for Adults 15+, with Sky leading growth through its expanding portfolio of opt-out channels. Broadcaster VOD continued to grow, up 5% year-on-year, with almost 60% of all streams now viewed via Connected TVs. This is increasingly where younger audiences are re-engaging with traditional broadcasters.
Looking ahead, live sport will again be a major driver of viewing, with the FIFA World Cup and an expanded Premier League schedule promising big, shared moments. However, the opportunity for broadcasters and advertisers extends beyond sport. The Traitors Ireland proved that compelling local formats can still deliver national moments of connection and commercial impact. More “Traitors-style” offerings — distinctive, premium and conversation-driving — will give advertisers new ways to engage audiences in trusted, high-attention environments.
The Assembly, a new cultural-behaviour programme featuring neurodivergent interviewees and interviewers, airing in January on Virgin Media, is another strong example of broadcasters thinking beyond sport to create meaningful, standout content.
In 2026, broadcasters that combine the collective power of live sport with the emotional pull of great storytelling will continue to capture hearts, attention and advertising investment. For advertisers, this means prioritising the moments that matter: selecting premium video environments that hold attention and working with broadcasters to build campaigns that drive consideration today and brand value over time.
Broadcasters and YouTube: Monetising Reach Beyond Linear
Broadcasters are increasingly embracing YouTube as both a distribution channel and a commercial opportunity. The platform’s scale, accessibility and cross-demographic reach have made it impossible to ignore, particularly as audiences continue to move away from traditional linear schedules. What began as a promotional outlet for short-form highlights has evolved into a core pillar of video strategy for many major players.
Channel 4 has led this shift in the UK. Its YouTube channels have delivered significant reach and commercial success, with content such as Taskmaster and Gogglebox attracting millions of additional views and generating meaningful new revenue streams. This is frequently cited as proof that traditional broadcasters can adapt to digital behaviours without diluting brand equity.
Sky Sports has also capitalised, using YouTube to extend the life of premium sports rights, from match highlights to opinion-led formats, capturing audiences who increasingly consume clips rather than full broadcasts. ITV’s decision to establish a dedicated YouTube sales team further underlines the platform’s growing commercial importance, enabling tighter control over monetisation and audience insight while competing more effectively for digital budgets.
Irish broadcasters are well placed to follow. RTÉ, Virgin Media and TG4 already have a strong presence on YouTube, supported by extensive archives and consistently engaging content. The opportunity now is to move from reach to revenue by formalising commercial strategies and sales approaches.
The key watch-out is the risk of “feeding the beast”. YouTube’s ecosystem ultimately serves Google’s interests, and broadcasters must ensure the value created is genuinely incremental, delivering new audiences and new income rather than cannibalising existing platforms. For broadcasters and advertisers alike, the goal should be complementarity, not substitution.
Streamers: Advertising Finds Its Place
After a decade of disruption, 2026 will mark the start of a new chapter for streaming platforms as they align more closely with the wider media ecosystem. Disney+ will introduce advertising in Ireland this March, with Amazon Prime Video likely to follow in Q4 2026 or early 2027. Netflix remains the major outlier, with no plans to launch an ad-supported tier locally in the next 12 months.
In markets where ad-supported streaming is already established, the viewer experience has been handled carefully. Ad loads are deliberately light, typically three to five minutes per hour, comparing favourably with traditional television, where commercial minutage averages eight to twelve minutes per hour. Online video environments tend to sit somewhere between these levels.
Access to this inventory will also become easier. Buying through demand-side platforms such as DV360 — already used by most agencies to buy digital advertising — will allow advertisers to integrate streaming into broader video strategies alongside TV, BVOD and YouTube.
While ad-supported streaming currently accounts for less than 10% of total video investment in markets where it has launched, its influence is growing. SVOD consumption can be as high as 30 minutes per day for most audiences in Ireland. This highlights the importance of these platforms for advertisers once the ad tiers launch. A key question for advertisers is where the budgets for this new inventory will come from. Internationally, early investment has tended to flow from existing online video budgets rather than television. In Ireland, this will become clearer once these platforms go live.
For now, 2026 should be viewed as a year of preparation and discovery: testing new opportunities with Disney+, understanding audience behaviour and refining cross-platform measurement. The greatest advantage will lie with advertisers that can blend traditional and emerging channels seamlessly, creating campaigns that move fluidly across this hybrid world of television and streaming.
Blockbusters, Families & Attention: Why Cinema Still Cuts Through in 2026
Cinema in Ireland remains a uniquely high-attention, premium channel in an increasingly crowded entertainment landscape. Despite streaming-driven shifts in viewing behaviour and a 15% decline in admissions in 2025 to just under 9.5 million, the big-screen experience continues to offer unparalleled immersion, collective engagement and creative impact.
The performance of cinema is increasingly dictated by the strength of individual titles and by how long those titles remain exclusive to cinemas before moving onto streaming. Family movies continue to play a vital role here: they drive volume, multi-generational visits and give brands access to broader audience profiles during matinees and school holiday periods.
In 2026, the release slate points to renewed optimism for cinema. Blockbuster titles such as Toy Story 5, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday are expected to generate clear audience peaks across the year. Alongside these global franchises, Irish productions including One Last Deal and the much-anticipated football drama Saipan (centred on the 2002 Roy Keane–Mick McCarthy fallout) provide culturally resonant moments for local audiences. Prestige adaptations will also play a role, with Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet attracting heightened attention following Jessie Buckley’s Best Actress win at the Golden Globes.
Looking ahead, cinema’s future will be defined by events rather than volume. Fewer but bigger films, supported by premium formats such as large screens, immersive sound and enhanced in-theatre experiences, will continue to concentrate attention around key moments. Family-friendly titles will remain central, driving group visits, repeat viewings and extended dwell time before, during and after the film. The combination of local stories and global franchises is likely to prove particularly powerful, pairing cultural relevance with scale.
For advertisers, the implication is clear: cinema delivers maximum impact when activated around key release peaks, adding depth and attention to broader, always-on strategies. By aligning campaigns with blockbuster release windows, leveraging immersive environments, supporting family-led titles and extending impact through connected video channels, brands can secure high-attention moments that deliver both immediate impact and long-term value in 2026 and beyond.
