U.S. TV streaming usage hits all-time high in June

TV Streaming Usage Hits All-Time High in June, according to Nielsen’s June 2023 Report of The Gauge™

NEW YORK — According to Nielsen’s June 2023 report of The Gauge™, the media measurement company’s monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs via television, streaming accounted for 37.7% of overall TV usage in the U.S. in June, a record high share total for the digital format. By comparison, cable content viewing made up 30.6% of TV usage and broadcast content viewing made up 20.8%.

Overall TV usage in June was up on a monthly basis for the first time since January (+2.2% vs. May), an uptick that was mainly attributed to the increased availability of younger viewers. Specifically, TV usage among the 2-11 and 12-17 age groups was up 16.3% and 24.1%, respectively, compared with May, with non-traditional TV options (i.e., streaming, video gaming) accounting for 90% of the increases across both groups.

Time spent streaming (via a television) increased 5.8% in June versus May, and viewers from the aforementioned 2-17 age group contributed to over half of that growth. Additionally, with 37.7% of overall TV usage, the streaming category represented the largest share of television to be reported in The Gauge since July 2021 when cable accounted for the same amount. The cable category holds the record for largest share of TV reported in The Gauge, with 40.1% reported in June 2021.

Paramount+ captured 1.0% of overall TV viewing in June and is the 11th streaming service to be independently reported in The Gauge. Viewing to Paramount+ was boosted by its original series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which generated nearly 1 billion viewing minutes. More within the streaming category in June:

• YouTube and Netflix each achieved their largest shares to date, representing 8.2% and 8.8% of TV, respectively.
• The action-drama series S.W.A.T., which streams on Hulu, Netflix and Paramount+, was the most-watched streaming program in June, with nearly 5 billion minutes viewed across the three platforms.
• Tubi TV usage increased 12.1% and brought its share to 1.4% of TV to remain the leading FAST service in The Gauge.
• Disney+ benefited from the growth in younger audiences, as usage jumped 11.9% to account for 2.0% of TV.
• With a 16.5% monthly increase in usage, Max captured 1.4% of TV (+0.2 pts.).

Broadcast content viewership fell 6.6% in June and the category gave up 2.0 share points to finish the month at 20.8% of television, its smallest share of TV to date. While cable usage increased slightly in June (+0.4% vs. May) on the strength of feature films (+10%) and news (+6.6%), the category lost 0.6 share points due to the increase in streaming and total TV usage. However, NBA-related programming was positive for both cable and broadcast formats, as the Conference Finals represented the month’s top programs on cable, and the NBA Finals helped drive a 31.7% increase in sports viewing on broadcast.

On a year-over-year basis, broadcast viewing was down 5.6% (-1.6 pts.), and cable viewing was down 11.6% (-4.6 pts.).

About The Gauge™

The Gauge™ is Nielsen’s monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs through a television screen. The Gauge is underpinned by Nielsen’s National TV measurement service and Nielsen Streaming Platform Ratings, the latter of which provides audience measurement data that details the amount of time consumers spend streaming and on which platforms. This broad look at platform usage provides complimentary insights to Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings, which details viewing to SVOD content at the title, program and episode levels. By leveraging Nielsen’s geographically representative panel of real people and big data, and showcasing both micro and macro-level data sets, The Gauge provides the industry with a holistic view of the content that audiences are watching, as well as when and by whom.