Streaming now accounts for a record 47.3% of all television viewing, according to Nielsen's latest figures, as platforms led by YouTube and Netflix continue to pull audiences away from traditional broadcast and cable.
A league of their own: The shift is being driven by the two streaming giants. YouTube and Netflix's combined 22.2% viewership now matches the entire cable industry's share of TV time. YouTube solidified its top spot with a record 13.4% share, while Netflix captured 8.8%, fueled by its deep library of original and acquired content.
Battle of the blockbusters: Content remains the main draw, with Netflix responsible for eight of the top 10 streamed programs in July. The final season of Squid Game was the month's biggest title with 5.4 billion viewing minutes, but Peacock’s reality hit Love Island USA was a close second at 5.3 billion minutes. Meanwhile, The Roku Channel saw the largest monthly growth of any service, jumping 7.5% to claim nearly 3% of TV time.
Linear's long summer: A light summer schedule left traditional television in a familiar decline, with broadcast and cable combining for just over 40% of viewership. News propped up broadcast networks, but cable saw viewership for both news and sports dip. The one bright spot was the MLB Home Run Derby on ESPN, which topped the cable charts for the month.
Nielsen’s data continues to categorize YouTube alongside services like Netflix, a move some analysts question given the platform’s reliance on user-generated content. Stripping out YouTube reveals a more modest 33.9% share for streaming, a figure that reveals the Google-owned giant's massive influence on modern TV habits. As viewership evolves, so does the measurement. Nielsen recently launched a new quarterly report to track the ad-supported streaming market specifically. Meanwhile, breakout hits continue to drive individual platform success, like Netflix’s animated movie KPop Demon Hunters, which became the top streaming movie in a key week in July.
