Streaming grabbed a record 37.7% share of television usage in June as Paramount’s Paramount Plus reached the 1% share mark for the first time, Nielsen said.
Total TV usage registered its first month-over-month increase since January, driven by an increase among youngsters in the 2-to-17 age group. According to Nielsen, streaming and game console usage generated 90% of young people’s increased TV usage in June.
Broadcast fell to its lowest share on record at 20.8%. Broadcast usage was down 6.6%, dropping its share by 2 points from last month.
Nielsen said that seven of the streaming services it reports on had their highest shares ever, with YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, Tubi, Peacock and Paramount Plus all posting gains.
Streaming’s share was up from 36.4% in May. YouTube had a 8.8% share, up from 8.5% in May. Netflix generated 8.2%, up from 7.9%; Hulu accrued 3.5%, down from 3.7%; Prime Video garnered 3.2%, up from 3.1%; Max had 1.4%, up from 1.2%; Peacock rose to 1.2% from 1.1%; Paramount Plus had 1% in its first month in the rankings, Roku Channel was flat at 1% and; Pluto TV grabbed a 9% share, unchanged.
The most-watched streaming program in June was S.W.A.T., which is available on Hulu, Netflix and Paramount Plus. Paramount Plus also got a boost from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which generated nearly 1 billion viewing minutes, according to Nielsen.
Cable usage increased 0.4% in June, but its share of TV usage dropped to 30.6% from 31.1% in May.
Broadcast and cable’s share of viewing dropped despite increased viewing for the NBA Finals.
On a year-over-year basis, broadcast viewing was down 5.6% and cable viewing was down 11.6%.
The trend is not a friend to traditional linear TV viewing. Broadcast and cable combined for a 51.4% share in June of 2023, down from 57.5% in June 2022 and 63.6% in June 2021.
