Streaming video platforms surpassed the collective efforts of broadcast and cable television channels as the most-used medium for watching TV in May, according to the latest “The Gauge” report from Nielsen.
It is the first time that streaming platforms surpassed traditional TV methods since Nielsen began releasing The Gauge reports four years ago, the measurement firm said on Tuesday.
Collectively, streaming platforms accounted for 44.8 percent of all time spent with TV during the May measurement period, which ran from April 28 through May 25. Broadcast and cable TV accounted for 44.2 percent share, with cable TV having a slight edge over broadcast when evaluated on a per-platform basis.
The milestone is remarkable for streaming, but unsurprising given the entertainment landscape today. Streaming platforms have solidified their presence as the predominant way most Americans watch entertainment content.
By comparison, broadcast and cable networks are trusted by Americans for local and national news, and continue to be a reliable source for sports programming, though both content genres are shifting toward streaming services, too.
May tends to be a slower month for sports — Major League Baseball (MLB) is fully under way, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) begin their playoffs. Football from the National Football League (NFL) is still a few months away.
Still, Nielsen said traditional linear TV has “shown surprising resilience” during its four-year period in evaluating streaming versus broadcast and cable.
In May, YouTube continued to be the dominant streamer, growing its share of TV time to 12.5 percent, up 0.1 percent compared to April. Netflix showed no growth between April and May, maintaining its second place lead with 7.5 percent of time spent with TV.
Disney platforms — which consist of Hulu, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus — and Amazon’s Prime Video were also flat when compared to April. Paramount dipped 0.2 percent to end the May measurement period with 2.2 percent of time spent with TV, and Fox-owned Tubi also fell by 0.2 percent on a sequential basis.
So, how did streaming overtake traditional TV? Look to the mysterious “other” category, where Nielsen counts smaller, specialty and niche linear channels and streaming services that aren’t otherwise rated. The “other” category grew 0.7 percent between April and May, a strong indication that streamers are discovering new channels on traditional TV, including multicast offerings, and streaming services that tend to fly under the radar.
And while some free streaming services logged a sequential decline, Nielsen noted that streamers are incorporating more of those services into their diets, Free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms — The Roku Channel, Pluto TV and Tubi — accounted for 5.7 percent of all time spent with TV in May when evaluated as a collective, which Nielsen claimed was higher than any individual broadcast network during the measurement period.
