Internet-based TV reception continues to gain ground in Germany, while connected TVs are now firmly established as the standard household device, according to national audience measurement body AGF Videoforschung.
The AGF Platform Study 2025 II shows that changing reception technologies, modern TV sets and app-based user interfaces are reshaping how audiences access both linear television and streaming services.
According to the study, 17.7% of TV households now receive television via internet-based means, up sharply from 11.3% a year earlier. All traditional reception infrastructures lost share over the same period: cable fell to 36.2%, terrestrial reception to 2.8%, while satellite, although still the leading platform at 43.4%, also declined slightly year on year.
As IP-based reception expands, entry points to TV viewing are changing. Instead of tuning directly to a linear channel, viewers are increasingly confronted with operating-system home screens and app-based menus that shape content discovery across live TV and on-demand services.
Connected TVs are now present in 70.3% of surveyed households, confirming their widespread adoption. Most internet-enabled TVs are connected directly to the internet (57.9%), while a further 15.2% rely on external devices such as streaming sticks or boxes, a figure that has increased slightly.
Around half of all TV sets in use are less than five years old, underlining the rapid modernisation of the installed base and the growing relevance of contemporary operating systems, user interfaces and streaming capabilities.
When switching on the television, 30.3% of viewers now see a user interface rather than a running programme. Among households using internet-based reception, that figure rises to 68.8%. Content selection is therefore increasingly driven by tiles, recommendations and app structures.
Despite this shift, broadcaster offerings remain central. The traditional numeric keypad on the remote control is still used by 77.1% of respondents. Nearly half of respondents (46.7%) reported having dedicated platform buttons on their remote controls. Among those, 58.8% use them at least occasionally. Netflix dominates these shortcuts, followed by Amazon Prime Video and YouTube, reinforcing the importance of device-level prominence in the competition for viewer attention.
Voice control, measured separately for the first time, remains underused. While a third of households have a voice button on their remote, only 14.8% actually use it, suggesting that traditional navigation methods still prevail.
Overall streaming usage rose to 75.6%. The strongest growth was recorded by YouTube and social media platforms, while Netflix and Amazon Prime Video also increased their reach. Importantly for the domestic industry, 44.7% of respondents said they used the online services of TV broadcasters, with most viewing taking place on the main TV set rather than secondary devices.
According to AGF, this indicates that broadcasters continue to compete effectively in the streaming environment by combining linear channels with catch-up and on-demand services in everyday viewing.
More than a year after the abolition the legislation which allowed housing companies to integrate cable TV subscriptions into tenants’ ancillary costs, the transition appears largely complete. Nearly three quarters of affected households have signed new cable TV contracts, while others have switched reception methods. Technical cable availability among households without a new contract has dropped sharply, highlighting the structural impact of the reform.
“The platform study adds an important layer to our 2025 annual review,” said Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf, Chair of the Management Board at AGF Videoforschung. “Changes in linear TV usage can only be understood through the interaction of several factors. New access routes and reception situations are altering how viewing begins, while content variety continues to grow and compete more intensely for audience attention. The television set remains the central screen for video consumption, but usage now takes place under different structural conditions.”
The AGF Platform Study is conducted twice per year by Kantar on behalf of AGF, based on around 2,500 interviews per edition in German-speaking TV households.
