Gen Z Cancels Everything, and the Over-50s Keep Streaming Alive

Gen Z rents its entertainment and owns almost none of it, while the over-50s quietly keep streaming's lights on. IGN and Dentsu's Generations In Play 2026 study, surveying 6,250 entertainment consumers across the US, UK, and Australia, calls platform loyalty effectively dead.

• 59 percent of Gen Z subscribe, watch one title, and cancel.
• 62 percent will not pay full price for a video game.
• 71 percent quit buying physical music; 70 percent quit physical films and TV.
• Where they do turn up early: opening weekend, 13 percent more than older audiences.
• Meanwhile, per The Hollywood Reporter and Nielsen, Q1 2026 hits like Landman and Virgin River drew 60 percent-plus of their watch time from viewers 50 and over.

Two generations, opposite shapes: the young rent, the old reside.