Traditional Networks Now Make Up Less than Half of Total TV Viewership

July 2023 marked the first time traditional broadcast and cable TV networks accounted for less than 50% of television viewership since the media analytics firm Nielsen began tracking platform usage over two years ago.

Although overall TV usage slightly increased compared to the previous month, the growth was primarily driven by streaming services, which reached an all-time high of 38.7% of total TV usage. Another 11.6% of TV usage fell under the “other use” category, which includes activities like playing video games on TV screens and physical media playback.

Streaming’s share of TV viewing continued to rise for the third consecutive month, surpassing 37.7% from June and marking its third straight month of hitting a new record. On the other hand, linear TV consumption showed declines, with broadcast networks contributing only 20% (down from 20.8% in June) and cable accounting for 29.6% (a decrease from 30.6% the previous month).

That’s a significant drop from Nielsen’s initial measurements in June 2021, when broadcast and cable TV made up 63.6% of all TV usage in the US, compared to the current 49.6%. Meanwhile, streaming increased from around 26% in June 2021 to the current 38.7% in July 2023, signifying a 48% surge.

As for specific streaming platforms, YouTube (excluding YouTube TV) led the pack with 9.2% of all TV usage, followed by Netflix at 8.5%. Fox’s Tubi and Max both had their best month to date, each accounting for 1.4% of usage.

In terms of content, acquired series played a significant role in the rise of streaming viewership in July: Shows like Suits on Netflix and Peacock contributed to more than 18 billion minutes of viewing during the month, comparable to the popularity of Stranger Things in July 2022. Additionally, Disney+’s Bluey garnered about 5 billion minutes of viewing in the same period.

See all of Nielsen’s Gauge rankings for July 2023 below (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Platforms
Streaming: 38.7% of TV usage
Cable: 29.6%
Broadcast: 20%
Other: 11.6%

Streaming Services
YouTube: 9.2% of total TV usage
Netflix: 8.5%
Hulu: 3.6%
Prime Video: 3.4%
Disney+: 2%
Max: 1.4%
Tubi: 1.4%
Peacock: 1.1%
Roku Channel: 1.1%
Paramount+: 1%
Pluto TV: 0.9%
All others: 5.1%

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