Nielsen: Record month for streaming in US
May 20, 2022
The Gauge, the monthly total US TV viewing snapshot from Nielsen, revealed that streaming reached another record high in April, capturing 30.4 per cent of total TV viewing and surpassing its previous record of 29.7 per cent set in March 2022.
While overall TV viewing dropped by 2.1 per cent from March, streaming volume in the US was virtually identical to the prior month, helping to increase its share by over 0.6 per cent.
The Gauge also showed that HBO Max achieved a 1 per cent share of streaming for the first time, allowing it to move out of the ‘Other Streaming’ category and stand alongside fellow streaming platforms that have previously exceeded the 1 per cent share threshold. The ‘Other Streaming’ category, which includes any high-bandwidth video streaming on TV that is not individually broken out, has grown by more than two share points since The Gauge debuted with May 2021 data. This category’s consistent growth reflects insights into audiences’ rising engagement with the growing number of streaming platforms.
Broadcast viewing was down 3 per cent in April and lost 0.2 share points from March, driven by a nearly 15 per cent decrease in content from the Drama genre as season finales began to air, in addition to a 38 per cent drop in sports on broadcast networks. Broadcast news viewing remained flat compared to March.
Cable also lost 0.2 share points in April and saw a month over month usage decline of 2.5 per cent. While sports viewing on cable increased 17 per cent from March, driven primarily by both the NBA playoffs and the NCAA Final Four, cable news saw its first downward trend in several months (-16.9 per cent) which hampered cable’s overall share.