Despite boasting the largest global user base — 300 million subscribers — Netflix (NFLX) ranked only fourth among U.S. media distributors in February, according to a new report from Nielsen. YouTube (GOOGL), along with platforms owned by Disney (DIS) and Fox (FOXA), all captured a larger share of TV viewership.
YouTube led the pack in Nielsen’s February 2025 Media Distributor Gauge, gaining 2% over January to claim 11.6% of total TV viewing time — its highest share to date.
Disney, which operates Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, saw its share drop by two percentage points. That decline pushed the company out of the top spot for only the third time since Nielsen launched its report.
Fox, meanwhile, experienced a surge in viewership on Feb. 9 — the most-watched day of the month — when it aired the Super Bowl. Fox-owned entities, including the free streaming service Tubi, saw a 5% jump in total viewing, fueled by a successful multi-platform Super Bowl broadcast. The Fox News Channel also saw a 3% boost and accounted for 37% of the company’s total TV share.
Overall, more Americans tuned into streaming platforms in February than either broadcast or cable networks. Streaming’s share of total TV usage hit an all-time high of 43.5%, compared to 23.2% for cable and 21.2% for broadcast.
Here are the platforms Americans watched most on their TVs last month.
Amazon (AMZN), the parent company of Prime Video, accounted for 3.5% of TV use in February. The e-commerce giant’s streaming service is known for original shows such as “Fallout,” “The Boys,” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the owner of the streaming platform Max, made up 6.1% of TV use in February.
NBCUniversal (CMCSA), the parent company of NBC and Peacock, was responsible for 8.1% of TV use last month.
Paramount (PARA) Global, which operates CBS and the streaming service Paramount+, accounted for 8.2% of TV viewership.
Netflix was the fourth most-watched media company in February, accounting for 8.2% of all TV use. The streaming giant is known for original series such as “Stranger Things,” “The Three-Body Problem,” and “Baby Reindeer.”
Fox, which operates both broadcast and cable networks along with the streaming platform Tubi, captured 8.3% of total TV viewership.
Disney-owned platforms — including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN — made up at 10% of TV use in February.
At the top of February TV use was YouTube, the video-sharing platform owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The social media site accounted for nearly 11.6% of all TV use in February.
The post Netflix, YouTube, Disney and more: The 8 most-watched platforms in February appeared first on Quartz.
