Streaming TV viewership has long outpaced broadcast and cable TV, but its advantage reached new heights in December 2025 thanks to Netflix, Nielsen figures show.
Netflix saw a 10% increase in overall viewership during the month of December. In total, it accounted for 9% of all television viewership during the window, according to The Gauge.
Christmas Day saw a huge increase in viewership for Netflix, as the streaming platform showed an NFL doubleheader featuring the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions. Following that NFL doubleheader, the streaming platform released the highly anticipated second volume of the series finale of Stranger Things.
In total, more than 55 billion minutes were spent watching streaming TV platforms on Christmas Day alone. Streaming TV viewership accounted for 47.5% of all TV viewing during December, a 3% increase compared to the previous month. On Christmas Day, that figure rose to 54%, the largest single-day share of TV ever recorded by streaming TV, according to Nielsen.
The previous high watermark for streaming TV was in July 2025, when it hit 47.3% of all TV viewing.
YouTube remained the top streaming platform for the month, reaching 12.7% of all TV viewership.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video rose 12% month-over-month to hit 4.3%. That rise can be attributed to four Thursday Night Football broadcasts, as well as new episodes of the Fallout series.
Broadcast TV accounted for 21.4% of all TV viewership during the month, while Cable TV his 20.2%.
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