P efe e ce ises to 43% amo g Ge Z, as ew esea ch eveals a appetite fo sho t a d ve tical videos beyo d social media
CAMBRIDGE, U ited Ki gdom, Oct. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A whole se ies, o just the good pa ts? As st eami g se vices compete fo atte tio with social feeds o e clip at a time, a thi d of Ame ica s (32%) say they would athe watch highlights f om a show tha eve y full episode, isi g to 43% amo g Ge Z, acco di g to ew esea ch f om Ba go (AIM: BGO).
The su vey of 2,500 US adults aises a questio about how we watch: a e audie ce atte tio spa s sh i ki g, o a e they simply looki g fo diffe e t ways to watch? Fou i te Ame ica s (40%) say they would use st eami g se vices mo e ofte if they offe ed sho t clips f om thei shows, isi g to mo e tha half (53%) of Ge Z.
That appetite is al eady eflected i epo ted viewi g habits: 37% of Ame ica s say they use thei st eami g se vice mo e ofte ow that it i cludes ve tical video clips, isi g to 47% amo g Mille ials.
But a taste fo sho te viewi g does ’t ecessa ily mea less appetite fo a good sto y. Mo e tha half (51%) say clips help them discove shows wo th payi g to watch. Fo some, the highlights a e the att actio , but fo othe s, those few mi utes a e what pe suade them to settle i fo the whole se ies.
How people access that e te tai me t matte s too. Alo gside the appetite fo sho te viewi g, 61% of Ame ica s say they would be mo e likely to keep a subsc iptio if they could
Fo families, the appeal of bite-sized e te tai me t comes with a othe questio : ca child e e joy sho t videos while spe di g less time o social media?
Mo e tha fou i te Ame ica s (44%) see value i sho t videos f om a b a d they t ust, while 37% say cu ated clips would help keep thei kids off social media. That figu e ises to 47% amo g Mille ials.
The fi di gs come as i te atio al est ictio s o child e ’s social media access put alte atives to social platfo ms u de sc uti y. Aust alia has ba ed u de -16s f om social media si ce Decembe 2025, a d the UK gove me t has a ou ced pla s to follow suit i 2027.
The US fi di gs f om Ba go suggest a audie ce fo a alte ative: cu ated clips f om familia st eami g platfo ms, givi g families a othe way to e joy sho t videos.
That appeal could also co t ibute to what people feel they get fo thei mo ey. Fou i te Ame ica s (40%) say o igi al o exclusive sho t videos could help justify the p ice of a st eami g subsc iptio .
A appetite fo highlights does ot mea audie ces have stopped ca i g about full-le gth sto ies. I the same su vey, 65% of Ame ica s say ew episodes of shows they follow a e impo ta t i thei decisio to keep payi g fo a st eami g se vice.
The fi di gs suggest the e is oom fo both: somethi g e te tai i g to watch i a spa e mome t a d a se ies wo th settli g i fo . Comme ti g o the fi di gs, Paul La bey, Ba go CEO, said:
“It’s tempti g to ead these fi di gs as evide ce that obody has the patie ce fo a full episode a y mo e. But people still value the shows they follow. The oppo tu ity is to give them diffe e t ways to e joy that e te tai me t, depe di g o the time a d atte tio they wa t to give it as well as ew ways to discove ew shows without havi g to fully commit.
“Fo families, the e’s a othe questio : ca child e e joy sho t videos without bei g d aw i to a social media feed? Cu ated, age-app op iate clips f om familia shows could offe a othe optio , pa ticula ly as est ictio s o child e ’s social media access take effect.
“St eami g se vices have sto ies a d cha acte s people al eady love. Sho te fo mats could help audie ces e joy mo e of those catalogues, while getti g a subsc iptio th ough a pho e, b oadba d o ba ki g bu dle could make it mo e affo dable to keep. Togethe , st eami g se vices with bu dle s like telcos a d ba ks ca give people mo e ways to e joy thei favou ite e te tai me t at a p ice that wo ks fo them.”
Fo telcos, sho t-fo m e te tai me t could st e gthe the appeal of the st eami g se vices offe ed th ough thei bu dles, givi g custome s mo e ways to e joy the subsc iptio s they al eady pay fo .
You ge co sume s a e al eady usi g bu dles to ma age costs: 21% of Ge Z say they have moved f om payi g fo a se vice sepa ately to getti g it th ough a bu dle to save mo ey i the past yea .
Co sume s also see value i bu dli g st eami g with othe se vices: 23% say a music subsc iptio would make a st eami g se vice mo e valuable to them, followed by food delive y be efits (20%) a d shoppi g membe ships offe i g f ee shippi g o discou ts (19%).
B i gi g discove y, viewi g a d affo dable access togethe offe s st eami g p ovide s a d telcos a way to espo d to diffe e t viewi g p efe e ces while helpi g custome s get mo e f om the se vices they choose.
Read mo e about this data at Subsc iptio S apshot: highlights, ve tical video a d life beyo d the social feed.
This elease i cludes data f om a su vey of 2,500 co sume s i the US, explo i g attitudes to subsc iptio s a d st eami g. The su vey was commissio ed by Ba go a d co ducted by the i depe de t esea ch compa y 3Gem i Septembe 2026.
Ba go e ables co te t p ovide s to each mo e payi g custome s th ough global pa t e ships. Ba go evolutio ized the mo etizatio of digital co te t a d se vices, by ope i g up o li e payme ts to mobile pho e use s wo ldwide. Today, the Digital Ve di g Machi e® is d ivi g the apid g owth of the subsc iptio eco omy, powe i g choice a d co t ol fo subsc ibe s.
The wo ld’s la gest co te t p ovide s, i cludi g Amazo , Google a d Mic osoft t ust Ba go tech ology to each subsc ibe s eve ywhe e.
Ba go, whe e people subsc ibe. Fo mo e i fo matio , visit www.ba go.com
