It’s Official: Streaming Surpasses Cable as Most-Watched TV Platform
The post It’s Official: Streaming Surpasses Cable as Most-Watched TV Platform appeared first on Consequence.
Welp, it looks like that newfangled “internet” doodad might be here to stay. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, streaming has passed cable for the first time ever, becoming the most-watched way to consume TV.
Nielsen’s July platform rankings saw streaming claiming 34.8% of eyeballs, edging out cable at 34.4%, and lapping broadcast (21.6%) and “other” (9.2% for gaming, physical media playback, and hard-to-categorize streaming via cable boxes). Nielsen has only been tracking platform rankings for 14 months, but during that time the trend has pretty much only gone in one direction. The pace accelerated in March of this year, and since then streaming has added about one point per month, with strong July numbers buoyed by the new season of Stranger Things.
Within streaming, Netflix remains the industry leader at 8%, followed by YouTube (including YouTube TV) at 7.3%, Hulu (including Hulu + Live) at 3.6%, then Prime Video (3%), Disney+ (1.8%), HBO Max (1%), and all others combined (10.2%).
Meanwhile, cable and broadcast both hit all-time lows, with cable down 9% from a year ago and broadcast slipping 10% over the same span. Those numbers may be even worse than they look; last year featured the the Tokyo Olympics as well as delayed NBA and NHL playoffs. And while there will be noise from month to month (August doesn’t have another chapter of Stranger Things to boost numbers) the trend is clear.
The news will be welcome to a streaming industry in turmoil. Netflix is fighting a worrying decline in subscribers with plans to charge a fee for account sharing and a cheaper, ad-supported tier that comes with a smaller, worse catalog. Meanwhile, Disney is hiking prices for Hulu and Disney+ while HBO Max will be combined with Discovery+.
It’s Official: Streaming Surpasses Cable as Most-Watched TV Platform
Wren Graves
Popular Posts
Corey Feldman Says Marilyn Manson Sabotaged His 2017 Tour: Exclusive
Metallica's James Hetfield Files for Divorce from Wife of 25 Years: Report
Whoops! Tommy Lee Posts Full Frontal Nude Selfie on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Angelina Jolie Sued FBI to Learn Why Brad Pitt Wasn't Arrested for Domestic Violence
Bam Margera Says He Was "Much Better Off" After Being Fired from Jackass Forever
Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert to Stream Live on YouTube and Paramount+
