Strong interest in the start of the National Football League’s (NFL) regular season boosted time spent with ad-supported media sources during the third quarter (Q3) of the year, according to a new report released by Nielsen on Tuesday.
In its quarterly Ad Supported Media Gauge, Nielsen said interest in ad-supported media peaked during the month of September, when more than 74 percent of television viewing took place on ad-supported networks and platforms.
Traditional linear TV, as a whole, accounted for nearly 54 percent of time spent with ad-supported TV during Q3, according to an evaluation of Nielsen’s data by The Desk, putting it ahead of streaming media, which accounted for 46.4 percent of time spent with ad-supported TV. Broken down by segment, cable networks represented 27.2 percent of time spent with ad-supported TV, while broadcast captured 26.4 percent, Nielsen said.
The Q3 period as measured by Nielsen ran from June 30 to September 28.
Nielsen said seasonality plays a big role in time spent with TV in general, and that is true for ad-supported media as a niche part of that segment. In July, viewership by children helped boost streaming rates overall because of the school summer break, but ad-supported viewership was lessened because fewer people were tuned in to traditional networks and network-owned streaming apps on account of the summer hiatus.
Taking that into account, ad-supported streaming lost nearly 4 share points during the September measurement month as more people started watching sports on broadcast and cable networks, Nielsen said. Broadcast gained more than 4 share points during the same period, while cable remained consistent.
