Last month marked another milestone for streaming services, according to newly released Nielsen viewing data.
In July, YouTube became the first streaming platform to surpass 10% of total TV usage. Month-over-month, YouTube usage increased 7% and accounted for 10.4% of total TV usage for the month.
Overall, streaming continues to show notable strength, accounting for 41.4% of TV viewing, while broadcast and cable viewing continue to decline. In July 2023, linear TV viewing (broadcast/cable) fell below 50% for the first time and continued to decline a year later, accounting for 46.7% of viewing in July 2024.
When it comes to total TV viewership, YouTube still ranks second only to The Walt Disney Company, which has the advantage of broadcast (ABC) and cable (ESPN, Disney Channel) as well as multiple streaming platforms (Disney+, Hulu). However, as a pure streaming platform, YouTube has performed surprisingly well, lagging Disney by less than 1% in June, the last month for which Nielsen released data. See the breakdown below:
Last month, Max’s “House of the Dragon” led all shows with 4.7 billion minutes watched, followed by Disney+’s animated “Bluey” with 4.3 billion minutes watched. Prime Video’s “The Boys” came in third with 4.2 billion minutes watched.