13 February 2026 · Bogusław Kisielewski

Linear TV: Twilight or Transformation? Five Trends for the Years Ahead

Ten years ago an evening in most homes looked much the same: the sofa, the remote and flicking through channels in search of “something to watch”. In the age of Netflix algorithms and endless TikTok scrolling, classic linear television looks like a relic. Is that fair? Are we heading for a switch-off, or is the television we know simply changing shape?

Here are five trends that will decide the fate of “traditional” television in the coming years.

1. Sport and news – the last strongholds of live broadcasting

We increasingly watch series and films on VOD (Video on Demand) services. Few people today have the patience to wait a week for the next episode or watch it chopped up by ads.

Linear television, however, has an advantage that is hard to take away: experiencing events together, at the same moment.

Sport: a World Cup final or the Olympic Games are watched live. Streaming still struggles with delay (latency), so the neighbour on cable shouts “GOAL!” half a minute before you do.

Breaking news: when something important happens or on election night, we instinctively reach for the news channels.

Forecast: linear television will narrow down to a medium for “here and now” events.

2. FAST – channel surfing returns in a new form

The paradox is that, tired of too much choice on streaming services (so-called decision fatigue), we are starting to miss… having no choice.

The answer is FAST channels (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV). They combine both worlds: we watch over the internet, but in a linear form – a cooking channel, a horror channel or a channel that plays one series on a loop, with ad breaks. The digital version of “leave something on in the background” is gaining popularity in the US and gradually reaching Europe.

Forecast: the difference between streaming and linear television will start to blur. Linear channels will stay, but they will be delivered by apps rather than coaxial cable.

3. The generation gap (Silver Tsunami)

There is no hiding it: linear TV viewers are getting older. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha a TV set is simply a big screen for a console or for casting from a smartphone.

Advertisers see this clearly. Linear television speaks more and more to viewers aged 50+, and that will show in the schedules: fewer programmes for young people, more content about health and politics, game shows and film classics.

Forecast: linear television will become a demographically niche medium – much like print newspapers today.

4. Addressable TV – the end of one washing-powder ad for everyone

One of traditional television’s weakest points was its outdated advertising model. The same ad break was watched by a student, a young mother and a pensioner, which meant burning through budgets.

The way forward is Addressable TV. Set-top boxes connected to the internet let broadcasters show different ads to different homes at the same time. During the same programme your neighbour sees an ad for an SUV, and you – one for a new console game.

Forecast: TV ads will become less intrusive and better targeted, which may for a while slow the flow of budgets to the internet.

5. Consolidation and the return of bundles

First there was cable. Then we “cut the cord” (cord-cutting) to pay separately for Netflix, HBO and Disney. Now it turns out that five subscriptions cost more than the old cable package.

History comes full circle. Telecom operators and media groups will start creating – and are already creating – super-bundles that combine linear channels with access to VOD services.

Forecast: linear television will become a “freebie” added to expensive streaming and internet packages.

Summary: transformation, not death

Declaring the end of linear television is premature, even though its golden years are gone for good. Soon “television” will no longer mean programmes broadcast at set times; it will become one of many items in the Smart TV menu.

Linear television won’t disappear – it will turn into an app.

How about you: do you sometimes switch on the TV just to have “something on”, or is every session in front of the screen planned? Tell me in the comments!

Based on a Polish post at boguslawkisielewski.pl.