Advanced Television

Nielsen: Streaming viewing passes cable

August 19, 2022

Nielsen has revealed that streaming usage surpassed cable in July to claim the largest share of US television viewing for the first time, according to The Gauge, Nielsen’s monthly total TV and streaming snapshot.

Streaming represented a record 34.8 per cent share of total television consumption, while cable and broadcast came in at 34.4 per cent and 21.6 per cent, respectively. Streaming usage has surpassed that of broadcast before, but this is the first time it has also exceeded cable viewing.

Total time spent watching TV in July closely resembled that of both June 2022 and July 2021, but despite these similarities, the change in the distribution of viewing formats on a year-over-year basis further demonstrates how viewing behaviours continue to shift.

July 2021

July 2022

YoY % Change

Broadcast

23.8 %

21.6 %

-9.8 %

Cable

37.7 %

34.4 %

-8.9 %

Streaming

28.3 %

34.8 %

+22.6 %

As the biggest mover this month, streaming usage increased +3.2 per cent 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.

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 per cent, boosted by the nearly 18 billion viewing minutes of Stranger Things alone.

Cable viewing in July dropped -2 per cent and -0.7 share points compared to June, and year-over-year, cable usage was down -8.9 per cent and -3.3 share points. Sports viewing posted the biggest decline for the category, dropping -15.4 per cent from June and -34 per cent from a year ago when the 2020 Summer Olympics began.

Viewing in the broadcast category, which is experiencing a typical lull in new content until the upcoming broadcast season begins in September, was down -3.7 per cent in July versus June and represented a loss of -0.8 share points. On a monthly basis, broadcast sports viewing declined -41 per cent in July compared to June, and the year-over-year comparison showed a decline of -43 per cent. The NHL and NBA playoffs in June 2022 and July 2021 contributed considerably to the similarities in monthly and yearly decreases in broadcast sports viewing, in addition to the start of the Summer Olympics in July 2021.

Categories: Articles, Cable, Consumer Behaviour, OTT, Research, VOD

Tags: , , , , ,