Report: Streaming 36.4% of May US TV usage
June 20, 2023
Streaming accounted for 36.4 per cent of time spent watching TV in the US in May, according to Nielsen’s May 2023 report of The Gauge, the media measurement company’s monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs via television. By comparison, 31.1 per cent of TV viewing was spent watching cable content, and 22.8 per cent with broadcast content.
Following trends that are typical for this time of year, total TV usage in the US declined for the fourth consecutive month in May, falling 4.4 per cent from April. Comparatively, time spent watching TV declined 2.7 per cent over the same period in 2022.
Time spent streaming (via a television) increased 2.5 per cent in May versus April, and streaming’s share of TV usage jumped from 34 per cent to 36.4 per cent. While a technical enhancement was a factor in the monthly uptick, approximately half of the increase was a reflection of viewing behaviour alone.
Representing 1.1 per cent of TV usage in May, the Roku Channel is the latest streaming service, and third free ad-supported television (FAST) service, to obtain stand-alone coverage in The Gauge. Combined, the three FAST services that are independently reported in The Gauge (Pluto TV, Tubi TV, Roku Channel) are each comparable in usage to Peacock and HBO Max, and in aggregate, accounted for 3.3 per cent of TV time this month.
Netflix and Prime Video each gained momentum in May, posting usage gains of 9.2 per cent (+1 pt) and 5.1 per cent (+0.3 pts), respectively. Roughly half of Netflix’s increase was due to the aforementioned technical enhancement, coupled with the fact that the top three streaming titles this month were Netflix Originals, including Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (5.4 billion viewing minutes), A Man Called Otto (3.1 billion) and The Mother (3 billion). Prime Video benefited from the strength of its original series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Citadel (pictured), which combined for 2.7 billion viewing minutes. YouTube maintained its stance as the top streaming platform for the fourth consecutive month, gaining 0.4 share points in May (0.9 per cent usage increase) to account for 8.5 per cent of TV.
Viewing via MVPD (multichannel video programming distributor) and vMVPD (virtual multichannel video programming distributor) streaming apps represented 5.5 per cent of total television use in May, including 1.3 per cent attributed to YouTube TV, and 0.4 per cent to Hulu Live. Compared with May 2022, overall streaming consumption has increased by more than 30 per cent, and streaming’s share of TV has risen 8.2 share points.
Broadcast and cable viewing each fell 5.5 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, in May versus April, and each surrendered 0.3 share points. Broadcast sports viewing was down 25 per cent in May compared with April, and the genre represented 7.9 per cent of broadcast’s 22.8 per cent share. However, the Kentucky Derby still secured the top broadcast programme for the month, drawing 14.5 million viewers. By contrast, cable sports viewership rose 12 per cent in May. The increase was driven by the extensive coverage of the NBA Finals on ESPN and TNT, which also accounted for the top four cable programs this month. Additionally, despite the traction that the May 10th CNN Town Hall generated, cable news viewing fell more than 11 per cent from April.
On a year-over-year basis, broadcast viewing was down 5.6 per cent (-1.7 pts.), and cable viewing was down 13.7 per cent (-5.4 pts.).