NEW YORK—The local broadcast TV trade association TVB has issued comments regarding Nielsen’s July 2023 The Gauge report that criticizes the relevance of the report and blasts the study for failing to “provide the key data needed by advertisers.”
Nielsen's July 2023 report of The Gauge found that new viewing records were set in July with streaming accounting for a record high 38.7% of total TV usage that month while linear TV viewership fell below 50% for the first time.
During July the share of broadcast and cable viewing also set new lows, with broadcast falling to a record low share of 20.0% and cable falling to 29.6% of total TV usage, respectively. They combined for a linear television record low of 49.6%. Nielsen also reported that from July 2022 to July 2023, time spent streaming via television increased more than 25%.
“The Gauge Report provides a monthly view of the content and programming that audiences are watching on a television screen, including broadcast, cable and streaming platforms,” said Steve Lanzano, TVB president and CEO. “However, The Gauge doesn’t provide the key data needed by advertisers. Specifically, The Gauge’s streaming numbers include ALL SVOD subscribers – those who do and don’t receive ads – and for most SVOD platforms subscribers viewing ads are a far smaller segment of the overall total viewing.”
“For example, The Gauge’s July 2023 report shows Netflix representing 8% of total U.S. viewing," he continued. "However, last month it was reported that Netflix stated that 1.5 million of its U.S. subscribers can view commercials, which approximates just 2-3% of its U.S. subscribers. So, while streaming TV viewing is prevalent, an overwhelming majority of streaming viewers don’t see commercials. Advertisers need these facts when considering streaming media investments.”
The criticism builds on previous TVB reports that showing local newscasts have exponentially larger audiences than popular streaming services like Netflix.
Others have also pointed out a number of potential methodological problems with The Gauge that have produced some overhyped reporting of viewing trends.
One issue is the distinction between streaming and linear TV at a time when there is more viewing of live streaming channels.
Another is how viewing on mobile devices, which are not covered by Nielsen’s The Gauge, may impact total audience numbers for local news, sports and other broadcast content.
