Nielsen announced Thursday that streaming usage surpassed cable in July to claim the largest share of television viewing for the first time, according to The Gauge, Nielsen’s monthly total TV and streaming snapshot. Streaming represented a record 34.8% share of total television consumption, while cable and broadcast came in at 34.4% and 21.6%, respectively. Streaming usage has surpassed that of broadcast before, but this is the first time it has also exceeded cable viewing.
As the biggest mover this month, streaming usage increased +3.2% compared to June and gained +1.1 share points. Time spent streaming in July averaged nearly 191 billion minutes per week, and each of the five measurement weeks in July 2022 now account for five of the six highest-volume streaming weeks on record according to Nielsen.
Netflix continues to be the top streaming platform, taking 7.7% of total share of TV consumption in July.
Traditional TV, which includes both cable and broadcast consumption, still collectively makes up the majority of TV viewing in the U.S., for now.
While the total amount of TV consumption has remained consistent in the past year, the amount that Americans have streamed has increased 22.6%, compared to declines in cable and broadcast of 8.9% and 9.8%, respectively.
MacDailyNews Note: According to Nielsen, among streaming distributors, Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube each captured record-high shares again in July after previously doing so in June. Netflix represented the largest share of overall TV viewing for a streaming platform with 8%, boosted by the nearly 18 billion viewing minutes of Stranger Things, complemented by the nearly 11 billion minutes of combined viewing of Virgin River and The Umbrella Academy.
Cable viewing in July dropped -2% and -0.7 share points compared to June, and year-over-year, cable usage was down -8.9% and -3.3 share points.
Apple TV+ is currently included in Nielsen’s “Other Streaming” category:
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Stayed at a motel in a more rural area. Had to deal with cable channels. My god the amount of commercials was obscene.
I know what you mean. We canceled cable years ago and very occasionally when I’m in a hotel, which is often due to my work, I turn on the TV. It goes off almost instantly. It’s just a cesspool of bad “reality” shows and terrible commercials.
Hey G, did you get your Macbook Air? How do you like it?
These are national averages. When you look at local consumption per DMA or account for multicultural audiences these stats are wholly inaccurate. #marketingnerd