Gen Z is unsubscribing: A study has found that greater than half of the younger age demographic cancels and renews streaming subscriptions based on the provision of 1 TV series or film, and nearly a 3rd won’t pay full price for a game and would relatively sample via a gaming platform subscription.
In response to the newly released “Generations In Play: 2026 Audience Insights Report,” which was published by Dentsu and IGN Entertainment, 59% of Gen Z users surveyed actively subscribe and unsubscribe to streamers to “chase a single title.” The report asserts this implies “platform loyalty is effectively dead.”
Moreover, the info finds 62% of Gen Z won’t pay full price for video games, 71% have stopped buying physical music, and 70% not buy hard copies of TV shows and flicks.
A shiny spot for Hollywood within the study says Gen Z is probably the most theatrical generation with 13% more more likely to attend opening weekend than older movie-goers.
The findings come from a study that was independently conducted by Kantar and UC Berkeley and included a survey of 6,250 “highly-engaged entertainment consumers” across the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
“Generations in Play 2026 was built on independent research conducted with Kantar and UC Berkeley, then synthesized through IGN Entertainment’s first-party behavioral platform, IMAGINE,” IGN Entertainment senior vp of selling and head of Imagine AI, Karl Stewart, said. “That combination is what makes it a behavioral map relatively than simply one other trend report. For thirty years, IGN Entertainment has watched Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z form their media habits inside our ecosystem. What this research confirms is that every generation is running on a fundamentally different operating system, and that the brands working with Dentsu now have a clearer view of how you can reach every one by itself terms.”
See below for a replica of the complete report, followed by Variety‘s Q&A with Dentsu’s global head of gaming, Brent Koning, which matches into more detail in regards to the findings within the “Generations In Play: 2026 Audience Insights Report.”
The information reveals that Gen Z is 13% more more likely to attend opening weekend of a movie than older groups. What aspects do you think that drive this theatrical interest in Gen Z?
The research definitely overturns the traditional wisdom about young audiences. The very fact is that Gen Z treats theatrical attendance as a social and communal experience relatively than a screen-worshiping exercise. They’re serious about the theatre as a part of an extended overall day or evening experience, not simply a one-and-done event.
With 59% of younger viewers subscribing and unsubscribing from streamers to chase specific titles, what should streaming platforms do to adapt to this shift and foster long-term loyalty?
The shift here isn’t necessarily about just creating more, recent or original content, because we all know that loyalty actually centers on IP that has longevity. “Stranger Things,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Walking Dead”… these are sagas that keep audiences engaged and coming back for more. But we’re also seeing that when IP transitions between formats, it brings audiences with it – so those sagas might be borrowed too.
The report highlights a pointy generational divide in sports consumption. How can sports rights holders and advertisers evolve their strategies to cater to younger audiences?
The generational gap in sports is actually about who delivers the content and the way. Gen Z wants to look at their golf on YouTube with Good Good, and Manchester United fans of a certain age would relatively do a watch together with Mark Goldbridge. Rights holders treating broadcast and creator content as rival channels are sort of missing the purpose and mis-reading the room. Creator content is the gateway to the game, not its substitute. You will have to construct parallel strategies for each, with different creative for every.
The information shows that 62% of respondents, particularly younger consumers, won’t pay full price for games. What do you see as the long run for gaming monetization models, like subscriptions or freemium approaches?
The query publishers needs to be asking is, how will we convert access into commitment? Subscriptions and free-to-play have turn into the regular front door nowadays, but what happens after players come through that door is where the brand new business models lie. Season passes, in-world status, virtual goods… these are the brand new rules of monetization.
71% of participants reported they not buy physical music and 70% said they don’t buy physical copies of TV series and flicks, reflecting a serious shift to the access economy. What are the long-term implications of this for traditional entertainment distribution models?
Music was the guinea pig! The remainder of entertainment is following the identical curve but at quite different speeds with a few of still living in denial! While gaming and TV are mid-transition, theatrical and live events are the holdouts trying to search out some margin within the experiential shift. Distributors can’t compete on catalogue size anymore, so that they are attempting desperately to be the platform you open first when you may have twenty minutes. The house screen is the most well liked battleground now.