Nielsen: in May, Americans watched more TV on streaming than on cable and broadcast networks combined, the first time streaming was king of TV over a full month
In May, more Americans watched television on streaming than on cable and network television combined, Nielsen said.
Context & Ripple Effects
Nielsen’s tracking has documented a long shift in US viewing: streaming represented 19% of TV watching in 2020 before Nielsen introduced The Gauge measurement system to follow streaming use alongside traditional TV. By July 2022, streaming had already edged past cable and broadcast individually, making this month-long combined crossover a meaningful escalation rather than an isolated new category win.
The 2023 reading that linear TV fell below half of total TV use supplied the intermediate milestone. The latest result shows the remaining linear share is now smaller than streaming in aggregate for a full month.
First-order effects
- Streaming platforms collectively become the largest measured destination for US TV viewing in May, while cable and broadcast networks together fall behind that aggregate.
- Nielsen’s monthly TV-use benchmark now frames streaming as the leading viewing format, strengthening its relevance for comparisons across linear and digital video.
Second-order effects
- Broadcasters and cable networks face a clearer audience-distribution gap when presenting their reach to advertisers and programming partners, while streaming services gain a stronger aggregate viewing benchmark.
- The result raises the value of comparable cross-platform measurement: buyers and sellers need to assess TV audiences across streaming, cable, and broadcast rather than treating streaming as a separate supplement.
Third-order effects
- If sustained across months, the crossover points to TV economics being organized increasingly around streaming-first distribution and measurement, with linear channels competing for a declining portion of viewing.
- The data does not establish that every streaming service benefits equally; the structural change is toward the aggregate streaming format, not necessarily a single winner.
The trend: US television is moving from a linear-led market to a streaming-led one, with audience measurement becoming central to how that transition is priced and managed.