Nielsen: in July, streaming topped both cable and broadcast for the first time in the US, with a 34.8% share; Netflix had an 8% share, and YouTube had 7.3%
a First”—WSJ Paradoxically there is a trending of stream-cutting as stream-cutters go to over-the-air digital TV broadcasts and free streaming. https://www.wsj.com/... Josh Schwerin / @joshschwerin : Will political ad spending adapt to this new reality? https://twitter.com/... Jason Kilar / @jasonkilar : In 2007 when we as a team were prepping the launch of Hulu - and the Netflix team was readying their streaming service as well - not many thought the below would ever happen, or be possible. Lots of invention and evolution in entertainment the last 100yrs. https://variety.com/... Marcus Gilmer / @marcusgilmer : But we're all gonna wind up paying more for all the streaming packages than we did for cable, which is saying something given the high cost of cable packages. Streaming surpasses cable as top way to consume TV https://www.axios.com/... Jessica Rosenworcel / @jrosenworcel : From the Department of How We Watch Now. https://variety.com/... @mediumbuying : Content from digital MVPDs (Hulu Live, YouTube TV, etc.) and traditional cable apps (Comcast, Charter/Spectrum) now represents 11.2% of streaming and 3.9% of total TV usage https://www.nielsen.com/... @tvgrimreaper : Nielsen's “The Gauge” snapshot July, 2022 Viewing share July 2022 vs July 2021 Broadcast -2.2% Cable -3.3% Streaming +6.5%* Other -0.9% (see link) *Streaming detail Netflix +1.3% YouTube +0.9% Hulu +0.7% Amazon +0.6% Disney+ Flat Other +1.8% https://www.nielsen.com/... https://twitter.com/... Dan Taylor / @sensorpunk : The month when everything changed. Forever. https://twitter.com/... @nielsen : Streaming usage increased 3.2% in July (from June) and 22.6% year-over-year (from July 2021). @nielsen : NEW: Streaming surpassed cable for the first time ever with 34.8% share of U.S. TV viewership in July. 🚨 Find out what caused the shift in our new edition of The Gauge: https://nlsn.co/... https://twitter.com/... See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Streaming’s share of TV viewing had already risen from 19% of TV watching in 2020, when Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and Amazon accounted for the leading portions of streaming use. Earlier coverage also recorded falling traditional-TV time alongside growing Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu adoption.
July marks a ranking change rather than merely another streaming gain: the combined streaming category now leads each of cable and broadcast, while Netflix and YouTube are the two largest named streaming destinations in the measurement.
First-order effects
- Netflix and YouTube gain a clearer position as the leading individual streaming platforms in U.S. TV viewing, with 8% and 7.3% shares respectively.
- Cable and broadcast networks lose their position above streaming as a viewing category, making their audiences comparatively less central to the TV market’s monthly usage mix.
Second-order effects
- Hulu and Amazon face a sharper competitive benchmark: the platforms that led streaming use in 2020 now operate in a market where Netflix and YouTube’s individual TV shares are explicitly measured against a larger streaming total.
- Comcast, Charter/Spectrum, and other distributors tied to traditional TV bundles face stronger evidence that viewing is shifting toward services outside the cable-and-broadcast categories.
Third-order effects
- If subsequent measurements sustain the pattern, TV-market competition will be organized less around cable versus broadcast and more around individual streaming platforms’ ability to capture TV-screen time.
- The later sub-50% linear-TV reading and streaming lead over cable and broadcast combined indicate that this crossover became part of a broader migration away from linear viewing.
The trend: U.S. TV viewing is moving from a linear, bundle-led market toward competition among streaming platforms for time spent on the television screen.