Streaming services have overtaken broadcast television, in keeping with the latest findings from Nielsen.According to the newest measurement of TV usage from the global marketing research firm, streaming made up 26 percent of total usage in May, as opposed to broadcast or over-the-air television's 25 percent. Meanwhile, cable television continued to draw a significant portion of viewers, making up 39 percent of total viewership of the month, while various other activities, including gaming and physical media playback, made up the remainder of the total. The information, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, suggests that streaming could reach numbers as high as a third of all TV usage given its recent increase by eight percentage points.
Nielsen originally announced its Streaming Video Ratings measurement in April, noting that streaming made up less than one fifth (18 percent) of television usage in spring 2020. In May of this year, however, Netflix and YouTube alone made up 12 percent of the total number, with Hulu, Prime Video and Disney+ drawing another total six percent of the total 26 percent. Other streaming services, including Apple TV+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock and Discovery+, made up the remaining eight percent.
"The past year has categorically shifted the television viewing landscape," stated Brian Fuhrer, Nielsen's senior vice president of product strategy and thought leadership. "Even as people begin to dive back into their pre-pandemic activities, based on the changes many made to enable streaming coupled with the variety of newly introduced services, we expect people to keep sampling and exploring their options. Maybe just as importantly, as production ramps back up, new content will enter the space, driving additional traction."
Nielsen's measurements did not previously provide a full picture of streaming's consumer reach. In 2017, Netflix deemed it "not even close" to accurate, arguing that Nielsen's viewing figures of Stranger Things' second season were incorrect. With more accurate measurements, streaming companies are in more of a position to tout and discuss the numbers, including Netflix, whose co-CEO Reed Hastings said that Nielsen is "in a good place to referee or score-keep how streaming is changing the U.S. television landscape." Hastings also issued a call to other streaming companies to up their game, noting that broadcast and cable combined make up more than twice the amount of streaming's total television usage.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter