Streaming TV has grown in prominence each month, but now new data from Nielsen shows that it is beating broadcast and cable TV combined.
During May, 44.8% of all television viewing in the United States happened on streaming apps like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and apps owned by Disney, among others.
Meanwhile, 24.1% of viewing happened on cable TV, while broadcast, over-the-air television was at 20.1% overall.
Streaming usage has grown by 71% since 2021, when The Gauge from Nielsen was first unveiled. In that same time period, broadcast television has dropped 21% while cable TV usage has slumped by 39%.
“It’s fitting that this inflection point coincides with the four year anniversary of Nielsen’s The Gauge, which has become the gold standard for streaming TV measurement,” said Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao. “It’s also a credit to media companies, who have deftly adapted their programming strategies to meet their viewers where they are watching TV – whether it’s on streaming or linear platforms.”
In the streaming category, 12.5% of viewing took place on YouTube, the top platform. Netflix represented 7.5% during the month, while apps owned by Disney — Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ — accounted for 5% of all streaming viewership. Amazon Prime Video (3.5%), Paramount+ (2.2%), Warner Bros. Discovery apps like Max and Discovery+ (1.5%), and Peacock (1.4%) also accounted for the streaming viewership.
Meanwhile, FAST services continue to grow as PlutoTV, Roku Channel, and Tubi combined for 5.7% of all streaming viewership. Meanwhile, 6.5% of the total was accounted for by a variety of other platforms.
Over the past four years, streaming platforms represented in the overall viewership figures have grown substantially. In the original Gauge release, only five separate platforms were listed in that genre. That figure has grown to 11 since the debut in May 2021.
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