For the first time, streaming services have eclipsed traditional television in overall U.S. TV viewership, according to a Nielsen report released Tuesday.
YouTube, Netflix, Paramount+ and other streaming services combined to attract 44.8% of all television usage in May, representing the largest share to date for direct-to-consumer platforms.
Nielsen found that total viewership for cable and broadcast networks was just a whisker behind with 44.2% of television usage.
Cable television viewership represented 24.1% of all viewing. Broadcast networks mustered 20.1% in a month traditionally boosted by strong ratings for season finales of popular network shows.
Streaming services have steadily pulled in viewers from traditional forms of linear television, and the disruption has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, Nielsen found.
For four years, the ratings agency has tracked monthly viewing as part of its Gauge report, providing a series of snapshots that document the audience migration.
Among Nielsen’s findings, YouTube was the top service in May with 12.5% of viewership.
Netflix came in second with 7.5% of the audience. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based pioneer ranks as the leading subscription streaming-on-demand platform.
Walt Disney Co.’s streaming offerings — Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ — combined to draw 5% of viewership, ranking third. Amazon Prime Video attracted 3.5% of total television usage, coming in fourth. The free Roku Channel finished fifth with 2.5%.
Nielsen cautioned that streaming may not consistently hold the monthly championship belt because broadcast networks still command a tremendous share of eyeballs, particularly during the fall and winter months when NFL football airs.
But even that is changing. The NFL has signaled a strong embrace of streaming through Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” and Christmas games on Netflix.
Traditional broadcasters have followed with their own streaming platforms to expand their audience, simulcasting such blockbuster events including this year’s Super Bowl, which was available on Fox and its sister streaming service Tubi.
This fall, Disney plans to debut its stand-alone ESPN service, which could further the tilt to streaming.
Streaming viewership has grown 71% during the four-year measurement period since Nielsen launched its Gauge report in 2021. At that time, Nielsen measured usage of just a handful of platforms: Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Prime Video and Disney+. Now Nielsen tracks 11 services, including NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Fox’s Tubi and Paramount’s Pluto TV.
Free services have helped boost the overall success of streaming, Nielsen found.
YouTube, which is mostly used for free with ads, has experienced 120% growth since 2021.
Other advertising-supported services, including Pluto TV, Roku Channel and Tubi combined for 5.7% of total TV viewing in May, which represented a larger share than any broadcast network.
Compared with May 2021, viewing to broadcast stations declined 21% and cable channels have fallen 39%.
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