The State of Gen Z Entertainment in 2027: Loved by Everyone, Funded by Few

Ask any 16-to-24-year-old what they love, and entertainment tops the list almost every time. Ask what they're happy to pay for, and the answer gets a lot more complicated.

That gap, between what Gen Z loves and what Gen Z will actually spend money on, is the challenge every entertainment and leisure brand is up against right now. Pion's Pion100 Wave 2 survey asked 2,000 Gen Zers to rate over 1,000 brands across 13 sectors on how much they like or love them, and entertainment landed near the very top. But liking a brand and funding it are two different things. Here's what separates the entertainment brands Gen Z merely likes from the ones they'll actually pay for.

The Brands Gen Z Already Can't Get Enough Of

Gen Z's top 10 entertainment picks, ranked by like/love score:

1. Netflix, 86%
2. Prime Video, 84%
3. Spotify, 82%
4. YouTube, 77%
5. YouTube Music, 71%
6. Universal, 70%
7. Six Flags, 69%
8. Hulu, 68%
9. Peacock, 67%
10. Roblox, 67%

Even the lowest brand on that list still ranks in the top 6% of the 1,000+ brands surveyed. Entertainment isn't a sector Gen Z needs convincing to like, it's one they're already obsessed with. The real opportunity isn't winning Gen Z's attention, it's winning their loyalty before a competitor does.

Two Ways Gen Z Shows Up: Habit and Hype

Gen Z's relationship with entertainment splits into two modes, habitual and event-based, and every brand on that top 10 list has picked a lane and nailed it.

Spotify, Netflix and YouTube own the habitual lane. They're the background noise for getting ready in the morning or winding down at night, and they win by being reliable enough that Gen Z never has to think twice about choosing them.

Six Flags and Universal own the hype lane. Gen Z is 13% more likely than older generations to show up for attraction-based events, and they're leaning hard back into in-person experiences post-pandemic. Opening weekends and novelty experiences aren't just marketing moments anymore, they're the social calendar.

Pick a lane, or build a brand that lives in both, like this Netflix night-routine trend on TikTok. Either way, know which game you're playing before you spend to win it.

So Why Won't They Spend?

Here's the catch: only 43% of Gen Z said they love spending in the entertainment sector, even though they love the brands in it. Gen Z budgets hard, and entertainment, however beloved, gets scrutinized like everything else in that budget.

That's not a dead end for brands, it's a filter. Gen Z won't pay for just any source of fun, they'll pay for the one that feels indispensable. Trust is the price of entry long before money changes hands, and the brands that build it first are the ones that win the budget, tight as it is.

How Prime Video Earned the Right to Charge for It

Amazon Prime is the clearest case study for turning trust into spend. It already had Gen Z's confidence through fast, reliable shipping, then leaned on that same reputation for consistency to build a habit around Thursday Night Football.

The bet paid off. Prime Video's Thursday Night Football averaged 15.33 million viewers per game in the 2025 season, up 60% from its 2022 debut on the platform. January 2026's wild-card game pulled in 31.6 million viewers, the most-streamed NFL game ever.

Amazon didn't win by being flashy. It won by being the one streaming option Gen Z knew would always deliver, week after week. That's the habitual-engagement formula at work: show up reliably enough, and Gen Z will eventually pay to keep showing up with you.

Earning Gen Z's Spend Starts With the Full Picture

Gen Z isn't an impossible audience, they're a discerning one. Work out whether your brand's lane is habit or hype, build the trust that budget-conscious spenders demand, and entertainment's near-universal appeal turns into real revenue.