Streaming, Broadcast Add Share in October Platform Rankings

A heavy sports slate and the lead-up to the midterm elections pushed overall TV use up in October. Streaming remained viewers’ favored delivery method for the month, and broadcast outlets grew, but cable’s share declined a little.

Nielsen’s monthly snapshot of TV use shows streaming platforms commanding 37.3 percent of viewing time in the United States, up from 36.9 percent in September. Streaming has grown for eight straight months, according to Nielsen, and has led all platforms for four months in a row.

Broadcast viewing rose by 10 percent over September and added 1.8 share points thanks to big growth among dramas — more than 40 aired on the five English language networks, with CBS’ NCIS drawing the biggest audience among them — and sports. Those two categories made up more than half of all broadcast viewing (27 percent for dramas, 25 percent for sports). News consumption on broadcast networks also rose by 15 percent in October as the midterms loomed.

Cable outlets lost 0.9 share points in October to finish with 32.9 percent of all TV use, despite some growth from news and sports (which make up about 30 percent of all cable programming). Cable and broadcast have both lost significant share in the past 12 months, going from a combined 65.3 percent of use in October 2021 to 58.9 percent last month. Streaming has added nearly nine points to its share in the same time frame, going from 28.4 percent a year go to 37.3 percent now.

YouTube was again the most used streaming platform, accounting for 8.5 percent of all TV use for the month. Netflix had 7.2 percent, off slightly from September, while Hulu ticked up to 4 percent. (In September, Nielsen changed its measurement of streaming platforms to a live plus seven-day viewing basis; previously it was live only. The figure also includes linear streaming on cable and satellite provider apps and outlets like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live, which contributed to usage jumps for both.)

Nielsen’s platform rankings for October are below.

Platforms

Streaming*: 37.3 percent
Cable: 32.9 percent
Broadcast: 26 percent
Other: 3.8 percent
*Includes linear streaming on MVPD apps and VMVPDs such as Hulu + Live and YouTube TV. Broadcast and cable content viewed through linear streaming apps also credits its respective category.

Streaming Services

YouTube (including YouTube TV): 8.5 percent
Netflix: 7.2 percent
Hulu (including Hulu + Live): 4 percent
Prime Video: 2.8 percent
Disney+: 2 percent
HBO Max: 1.1 percent
Pluto TV: 0.9 percent
All others: 10.8 percent