More people are spending their time on TV watching a streaming service like Netflix or Disney+ than cable or fiber optics last month, for the first time, Nielsen reports.
In July 2022, streaming platforms dominated by Netflix overtook cable networks for the first time to capture the largest share of US TV viewers for the month, according to new data from Nelson. It was only a matter of time before this milestone was reached. As the use of broadcast is steadily increasing while traditional television has been declining for several years now.
A Nielsen survey showed that streaming services accounted for 34.8% of US usage in July. It is followed by optical fiber (34.4%), cable television (21.6%) and other television uses (9.2%). Compared to the same period last year, broadcasting increased by 22.6%. Viewers spend an average of 190.9 billion minutes per week on SVOD services.
Netflix and Disney +: Streaming platforms become more popular than TV for the first time in the US
Despite losing subscribers at the start of the year, Netflix still leads the way among other streaming platforms, with a total of 7.7% of views in July. This partial success is mainly attributed to the release of the much awaited fourth season of Stranger Things, which totaled 18 billion minutes of watched during this month. This season has been strategically split into two parts over a period of over two months. To allow maximum subscription success, Netflix has apparently calculated its traffic quite well.
The broadcaster introduced yet another strong showing with new movies on Netflix. Like The Gray Man and the final season of Better Call Saul. YouTube, Hulu and Amazon Prime also set records, totaling 7.3%, 3.6% and 3% of the streaming audience, respectively, last month.
It’s important to note that Nielsen only tracks display data on TVs. The data does not include viewers who consume content through mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, or computers. With this in mind, one would likely find that streaming services account for the vast majority of the time the public spends on entertainment.