After a two-month surge fueled by the World Cup, TV usage cooled off in August as kids and teens returned to school and adults await the start of football season, according to Nielsen.
But it was not enough to stop YouTube, which managed to buck the downturn, increasing its share of TV viewing 6% to a record 15.8% and maintaining its lead in Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge. While viewing among six- to 17-year-olds faced back-to-school headwinds, YouTube benefited from a 9% increase in viewing among adults 50 and older.
Overall, total TV usage fell 4.4% during the month, though cable and streaming managed to grow their share of viewing to 18.9% and 49.6%.
Streaming gained 0.6 share points despite the category’s overall usage being down 3.2% for the month. Cable usage declined 3%, but the category gained 0.2 share points driven by a 26% rebound in sports viewing, nearly offsetting July’s 27% decline. But news remained its largest genre, accounting for 25% of its viewing versus 8.2% for sports.
Meanwhile, broadcast viewing fell 14% and lost 0.2 share points, finishing the month with 17.5% of TV viewing.
Sports viewing fell to less than 9% of the category’s viewing in August, compared to 30% in July, while dramas and news represented 22% and 18% of broadcast viewing, respectively. Additionally, while Hispanic audiences represented a 30% increase in broadcast viewing from May to June, and steady viewing through July, broadcast usage among Hispanic viewers declined 30% in August.
News programming led the broadcast rankings, with ABC World News Tonight topping both the program and telecast lists, while NBC’s NFL preseason coverage ranked sixth among broadcast telecasts, offering a preview of football’s return in September. ESPN’s coverage of the North Carolina–TCU college football matchup on Aug. 29 topped the cable telecast rankings.
Trailing behind YouTube was Disney, which returned to the second place ranking amongst media distributors with a share of 9.3% of TV viewing. Its streaming business accounted for 4.8% of the total, an increase of 0.1 share point.
Though Netflix finished second amongst individual streaming platforms with a share of 7.7%, it was the third-largest media distributor for the month. Rounding out the top five was NBCUniversal/Versant, which tied with Netflix when combined, and Paramount, which finished the month with a 6.8% share.
On their own, NBCUniversal and Versant made up 5% and 2.2% of TV viewing, respectively. Peacock accounted for 1.6% of TV viewing following the conclusions of Telemundo’s World Cup coverage and the latest season of Love Island USA in July, but was up 0.2 share points compared to a year ago. Paramount’s streaming division, which includes Paramount+ and Pluto TV, finished August with 2.3% of TV viewing.
Rounding out the rest of the list was Fox with 5.6%, with Tubi accounting for 1.9% of the total; Warner Bros. Discovery with 5.3%, with its streaming business accounting for 1.4% of the total; Amazon with 4.3%, with Prime Video accounting for 4.2% of the total; The Roku Channel with 2.9%; Scripps with 1.6%; Weigel Broadcasting with 1.4%; Hallmark and A&E Networks with 0.8% each and AMC Networks with 0.6%.
The August data does not reflect a one-time methodology adjustment by Nielsen, which will kick off starting with its September viewership figures.
It also doesn’t reflect the closing of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which would give the two companies a combined 12.1% share of TV viewership, putting it as the second-largest media distributor behind YouTube.
If Fox’s pending $22 billion acquisition of Roku is approved by regulators, the Murdoch-owned media giant would become the fourth-largest media distributor with an 8.5% share based on the August figures. That deal, which was approved by shareholders from both companies, is expected to close in the first half of 2027.
“We continue to work closely with clients to guide them through the methodology change, sharing further impact data and allowing additional time to evaluate the trends,” Nielsen said in a statement. “Therefore, Nielsen will publish the September and October intervals together later this year.”
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