Just four years ago, grading services Nielsen launched its monthly tracking tracking TV Viewers between broadcast TV, cable and streaming. During that time, streaming viewers have become even bigger than you realize. And for that May 2025 ReportIt hit a new milestone.
Nielsen says that for the first time since it has traced through the meter, the time that people spend on watching TV via streaming services has exceeded the amount they watch traditional broadcast TV and cable TV -together.
Streaming accounted for 44.8 percent of all TV viewers in the United States, while the cable was only 24.1 percent and the broadcast was 20.1 percent. Compare that with May 2021When the flow was only 26 percent of all TV shows, and the cable was up to 39 percent. Nielsen says that is an increase of 71 percent in the total TV use for streaming. And if you can believe it is only half of it from Your child watching “Bluey” episodes on repeat.
Less than a year ago we wrote that Streaming broke another disc And for the first time was bigger than the cable ever (or at least since 2021), but now it squeezes away at both broadcast and cable. It should be a surprise for no one that the viewing and cable viewership decreases, but Nielsen says that the two inheritance forms of the media show “surprising resilience.”
Back in 2021, only five streaming services had more than 1 percent of all eyeballs watching TV: Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, Prime Video and Disney+. Now that list has grown to 11 platforms that have a consistent part of the show, including 5.7 percent of all views that come from Fast Channel platforms Pluto, Tubi and Roku Channel. Paramount+ and Peacock have also secured solid market shares, as well as the combined display of HBO Max and Discovery+ (although Apple TV+ is still absent from crossing Nielsen’s 1 percent threshold).
Youtube is still king, but Netflix’s display share has increased by 27 percent since May 2021 and this year had 7.5 percent of all television show. Some of Netflix’s Boost came from their two Christmas day’s NFL games last year, which was the biggest streaming day in history, according to Nielsen. The influx of sports to places such as peacock and main video will only broaden the gap. However, Nielsen says that when football and some hit autumn shows come back later in the year, it can probably be sent temporarily to win back a higher proportion.
So what does all these numbers mean for creators? This means that the transition from broadcast and cable is happening faster than even people thought, and it will affect the consolidation of companies that are right now separate their cable channels from their studio and streaming companies. It also suggests that creators should pay more attention to quickly, as there are many eyeballs there for your work.
Take a look at the full report here.
