Streaming Reaches Record 40.3% of Total TV Usage in June, Boosted by Younger Audiences

Streaming continued to smash records in June, with the category accounting for 40.3% of total TV usage during the month, according to Nielsen’s latest Gauge report.

The milestone marks a 6% month-over-month increase in viewership and tops May’s 38.8% share, making it streaming’s best month ever (the previous single category record was 40.1%, set by cable in June 2021).

The increase was driven by double-digit growth across four platforms: Disney+ (+14.8%), Tubi (+14.7%), Netflix (+11.8%) and Max (+11.0%), all with 20% or more attributable to younger viewers ages 2 to 17.

Overall, the streaming category saw a 16% increase in viewing from kids 2 to 11. Younger audiences also helped drive a slight monthly increase in overall TV usage in June (+2.1%), which was comparative to June 2023 (+1.3%).

When looking at individual services, YouTube continued to lead the pack with a 9.9% share, followed by Netflix at 8.4% — a tenth of a share point below its platform-best showing of 8.5% in July 2023.

Prime Video and Hulu took the third and fourth place spots at 3.1% and 3%, respectively, while Disney+ and Tubi tied for fifth at 2% each. Following behind were The Roku Channel at 1.5%, Max at 1.4%, Peacock at 1.2%, Paramount+ at 1.1% and Pluto TV at 0.8%.

“Bridgerton” generated 9.3 billion viewing minutes during the month, while the Bryan Cranston-led Showtime series “Your Honor” followed with 7.5 billion minutes across Netflix and Paramount+. Other series that garnered strong viewership included Prime Video’s “The Boys” with 4 billion viewing minutes and HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” which totaled 3.4 billion minutes on Max.

Elsewhere, broadcast claimed 20.5% of total TV time in June, benefitting from a 26% bump in sports and 5% increase in news. The NBA Finals, CNN presidential debate simulcast on ABC and Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals covered the Top 7 most-watched broadcast telecasts for the month, with NBC’s broadcast of the women’s gymnastics Olympic trials settling into the eighth slot among top telecasts with 7.4 million viewers.

Meanwhile, cable totaled 27.2% of TV usage in June, with a major boost from the CNN presidential debate . The simulcasted debate claimed the Top 2 cable telecasts of the month, with CNN leading the pack with over 10 million viewers, followed by Fox News Channel with 9.5 million. The category’s general drama and feature film genres each climbed about 6% from the previous month, but cable sports viewing fell 35% as the NBA and NHL concluded their seasons.

“It’s typical for traditional linear TV to exhibit a lull in viewership during the summer months, and both broadcast and cable recorded fairly sharp declines in their share of TV usage in June. The broadcast category lost 1.8 share points and cable fell by 1.0 point, bringing the two to a combined 47.7% of overall TV this month,” Nielsen noted. “The wildcard for traditional TV as we move into July and August will be the Summer Olympics, whose widely covered quadrennial events have historically drawn sizable audiences across both broadcast and cable networks.”

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