Streaming

Streaming Hits Huge Milestone Surpassing Cable TV

For the first time, more people are using streaming services than regular TV.

Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images

For the first time ever, streaming is now more popular than cable TV.

A new Nielsen report says that in May of this year, streaming accounted for 44.8% of TV watched versus 44.2% for cable and broadcast TV. It’s the only time streaming has ever outpaced regular television.

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The report says since 2021, streaming usage from the average person has increased by 71%.

Netflix is the biggest winner for streaming services proper, with 7.5% of the pie. Disney/Hulu are next, with 5% of all TV watched. Amazon Prime Video clocks in at 3.5%, the Roku Channel and Tubi both have 2.2% of viewers, HBO Max has 1.5%, and Peacock has 1.4%.

YouTube has the biggest number on the list, with 12.5%, although not all their content is TV. In the past four years, YouTube viewership has grown by 120%. Nielsen began tracking streaming data with their tool known as The Gauge four years ago.

“Itโ€™s fitting that this inflection point coincides with the four year anniversary of Nielsenโ€™s The Gauge, which has become the gold standard for streaming TV measurement,” Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao said in a statement. “Itโ€™s also a credit to media companies, who have deftly adapted their programming strategies to meet their viewers where they are watching TV โ€“ whether itโ€™s on streaming or linear platforms.”

It seems likely that cable and broadcast will make a resurgence when sports season starts back up again. Regardless, the fact that streaming is now on the same level as TV proper is interesting on its own.