Nearly three-quarters of all time spent with television during the first three months of the year took place on ad-supported platforms across traditional and streaming TV platforms, according to a new report released by Nielsen on Thursday.
The report, called the Ad Supported Gauge, examines the amount of time spent with ad-supported TV during a quarterly period, the measurement firm said. The aim of the Ad Supported Gauge is to give advertisers and agencies greater insight into the reach of ad-supported platforms.
Anecdotally, consumers have increased their use of ad-supported platforms over the past few years, with many using a mixture of broadcast and pay TV to watch news and sports — programming that almost always has some time of advertising foundation — and ad-supported streaming plans to offset price increases while still accessing a service’s catalog of premium shows and movies.
Traditional TV platforms — broadcast and cable — accounted for 57.6 percent of time spent with ad-supported TV during the first three months (Q1) of 2025, Nielsen said. Streaming platforms clocked in at 42.4 percent.
Broken down by platform, pay TV — listed in the report as “cable,” but which also includes satellite — accounts for 28.9 percent, while broadcast TV had a 28.7 percent share of time spent with TV during Q1, which Nielsen considers to be nearly even.
“Every day our clients use our data to make informed decisions about their business. As we head into the Upfront, this ad supported layer to our industry defining Gauge report provides deeper levels of analysis to help guide advertising strategies,” Karthik Rao, the CEO of Nielsen, said in a statement.
Nielsen will continue to provide its “The Gauge” report — a comprehensive breakdown of TV platforms and streaming services — and its Media Distributor Gauge report on a monthly basis.
