Nielsen's The Gauge Finds Streaming Captures Nearly 32% of Total TV Viewing in May, a Third Consecutive Record-Breaking Month For the Digital Format

Streaming exhibited largest monthly increase ever despite drop in overall TV viewing

NEW YORK, June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In May, streaming viewership accounted for 31.9% of total television consumption, achieving a record-high share for the third consecutive month according to The Gauge, the monthly total TV viewing snapshot from Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN). This follows the two most recent record-breaking months for streaming usage, April and March 2022, when streaming captured 30.4% and 29.7% of total TV viewing, respectively, and marks the largest month-to-month increase in share for streaming with a gain of 1.5 share points versus April.

While overall TV usage decreased by 2.7% in May compared to April—a drop that follows typical viewing trends for this time of year—streaming was the only viewing category to exhibit any month-over-month growth in May as it continued to narrow the gap on cable's 36.5% share of viewership, and it exceeded broadcast's 24.4% share.

Time spent streaming in May increased by 2% versus April, bolstered by the release of new content at the end of the month: Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ and Netflix's Stranger Things. With the release of these programs, Disney+ captured 2.5% of total TV viewing on May 27, and Netflix claimed 9.0% on May 28.

Broadcast and cable viewing both declined in May, as viewing volume fell 3.5% for each category versus April. The drama genre led with the largest share of broadcast viewership for the month, with procedural crime dramas representing about one-third of broadcast viewing.

While cable news viewing in May was down 4.2% from April, it represented the largest portion of cable's share at 17%. Cable sports viewing was up 7% in May and accounted for 9% of the cable share, driven largely by NBA playoff games which were the top six most-viewed cable programs that month.

The Gauge is underpinned by Nielsen's TV ratings service and Streaming Platform Ratings. The latter provides clients with audience measurement data that details the amount of time consumers spend streaming and on which platforms. This broad look at platform usage provides complimentary insights to Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings, which details viewing to subscription-based video on demand (SVOD) content at the title, program and episode level. By showcasing both the micro and macro-level data sets, the industry has a full picture of how this media is being consumed, as well as when and by whom.

Nielsen's approach to audience measurement, which leverages a geographically representative panel of real people and big data, is built for the future of media consumption. With The Gauge, the future of TV consumption is visible in a single view. The latest edition of The Gauge is always available at www.nielsen.com/thegauge.

Nielsen shapes the world's media and content as a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their audiences—now and into the future. An S&P 500 company, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) operates around the world in more than 55 countries. Learn more at www.nielsen.com or www.nielsen.com/investors and connect with us on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram).

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SOURCE Nielsen