Janice R. Andrews
In July, streaming services broke records for viewing, as reported in the most recent Nielsen The Gauge survey. During the month, 41.4% of all TV viewing was done via streaming, which is the greatest percentage of any viewing category in the history of the study. This significant achievement emphasizes the quick development and superiority of digital platforms over traditional broadcast and cable TV, building on the previous record achieved by streaming in June.
YouTube was one of the best performances in July; with 10% of TV consumption, it became the first streaming service to break the 10-percent mark. This accomplishment highlights the platform’s increasing importance as a main source of entertainment. Disney+ and The Roku Channel both had their highest-ever watching shares of 1.6% and 2.1%, respectively, on other streaming services.
A few significant patterns in the changing media environment are shown by Nielsen’s report. Interestingly, The Gauge does not monitor usage from laptops or mobile devices—it solely monitors TV screen watching. In spite of this restriction, the July findings show that streaming has surpassed traditional TV’s offerings and established itself firmly in the living room.
Along with these viewership milestones, Nielsen also reported that 10 different streaming titles broke yet another record by exceeding 1 billion minutes of viewing in the first full week of July. Programs from seven different streaming services made up this list, representing a diverse range of genres and audiences. At the top of the pack was Netflix’s action film “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” which received 2.05 billion minutes of viewership between July 1 and July 7. “Suits,” a television series available on Peacock and Netflix, came in second with almost 1.5 billion minutes of viewing. Other top contenders were “House of the Dragon” on Max, “Your Honor” on Netflix/Paramount+, and “The Bear” on Hulu, all of which exceeded 1.2 billion minutes of viewing in that week.
These unprecedented performances suggest that any platform may produce the next great streaming hit, therefore fostering innovation and competition in the sector.
