Broadcast Continues Seasonal Comeback on the Strength of Sports Programming, according to Nielsen's September 2023 Report of The Gauge™

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Oct 17, 2023, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadcast gained ground again in September, boosted by an explosive month of viewership in the sports genre, according to Nielsen's September 2023 report of The Gauge™, the media measurement company's monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs via television.

Nielsen’s September 2023 report of The Gauge™, a monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs via television.

Broadcast viewership in September increased for the second consecutive month, with viewing volume up by nearly 13% overall, and by more than 30% in both the 18-49 and 25-54 demographics. This sizable increase in volume led to an additional 2.5 share points for the category, to finish at 23.0% of total TV usage. The broadcast sports genre experienced massive growth (+360%) amid the start of NFL and college football seasons. By comparison, the sports genre saw a 222% increase in viewership over the same period in 2022.

Cable also felt a positive impact from sports viewership, exhibiting a 25.5% increase in the sports genre in September. ESPN carried the top 11 cable telecasts this month—10 of the 11 were football-related, and the U.S. Open took ninth place. Overall, cable viewing in September fell slightly (-1.1%) from August, and the category lost 0.4 share points to represent 29.8% of TV usage.

Streaming viewership declined for the second consecutive month (-1.7%), and the category lost more than half a share point to represent 37.5% of total TV usage in September. There were a few bright spots for the category, however, including Amazon Prime Video, which saw the largest increase in viewership among streaming platforms (+7.5%) driven by the two* NFL Thursday Night Football broadcasts, as well as the second season of The Wheel of Time. This month's TNF broadcast dates also represented Prime Video's highest viewing days in September, and the streamer reached a personal best 3.6% share of television.

In addition to Prime Video, Tubi and The Roku Channel were the only other streaming platforms to exhibit growth in viewership vs. August (up 4.3% and 1.4%, respectively), but shares for each remained the same. Despite hosting September's top three streaming titles, which accounted for a combined 18 billion viewing minutes (Suits, shared with Peacock, Virgin River and One Piece), Netflix viewership declined around 5% and it lost 0.4 share points. Paramount+ and Peacock also declined in the 5% range, while Disney+ usage was much flatter by comparison (-1.6%), due in part to the 11.3 billion viewing minutes accumulated by Bluey, Ahsoka, Elemental and The Little Mermaid (2023).

Linear (live TV) streaming via MVPD (multichannel video programming distributors) and vMVPD (virtual multichannel video programming distributors) apps represented 5.7% of total television usage in September, the highest total to date this year. Linear streaming is included in the appropriate broadcast or cable category, and is not included in the streaming category.

About The Gauge™

The Gauge™ is Nielsen's monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs through a television screen. The Gauge is underpinned by Nielsen's National TV measurement service and Nielsen Streaming Platform Ratings, the latter of which provides 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 SVOD content at the title, program and episode levels. By leveraging Nielsen's geographically representative panel of real people and big data, and showcasing both micro and macro-level data sets, The Gauge provides the industry with a holistic view of the content that audiences are watching, as well as when and by whom.

The latest edition of The Gauge is always available at www.nielsen.com/thegauge.

*The month of September 2023 in this report begins 08/28/2023 and concludes 09/24/2023.

About Nielsen

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. Nielsen operates around the world in more than 55 countries. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram).

SOURCE Nielsen