Streamers, cable fight for share of consumers’ TV time

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Key stat: Over one-third (37.7%) of US consumers’ time spent with TV is with streaming services, per Nielsen. Cable is not far behind, with a 30.6% share of consumers’ TV time.

Beyond the chart:

• Though streaming earns the largest share of consumers’ attention, when you break it down by platform, time spent is quite fragmented.
• YouTube (8.8%) just barely edges out Netflix (8.2%) when it comes to share, but not in terms of daily time spent on the platform. In fact, Netflix viewers will spend 11 more minutes a day on Netflix than YouTube viewers will spend on YouTube this year, according to our forecast.

Use this chart:

• Understand where consumers are spending their time watching TV.
• Allocate TV ad spend.
• Advocate for diversity in TV ad spend.

More like this:

• Streaming hours on The Roku Channel increased more than 50% in Q2
• Among active users, Netflix takes the platform crown, but ad-friendly TikTok, Hulu, and YouTube have better outlooks
• Netflix adds 5.9 million subscribers in Q2 thanks to password-sharing changes
• How Netflix, Roku, and NBCUniversal are getting into commerce

More Chart of the Day:

• 7/28 - Price is key for D2C
• 7/27 - Ad channel choices
• 7/26 - CTV’s $15B boost
• 7/25 - Retail top 10
• 7/24 - Peak TV

Note: Starting Feb 2023, viewing that occurs through MVPD and vMVPD (virtual/multichannel video programming distributor) streaming apps (e.g., YouTube TV, Hulu Live, DirecTV, Charter/Spectrum), which primarily deliver live broadcast and cable programming, are no longer under the streaming category. Viewing to broadcast and cable content has always been reflected in the corresponding broadcast or cable category, including viewing that occurs via MVPD/vMVPD apps. Since May 2023, content streamed via a cable set-top box that is identified as a "streaming original" is credited to the appropriate streaming service, and by extension, the overall streaming category and is no longer in the "other" category.