Nielsen: TV Usage Booms Again in January, Fueled by Broadcast and Streaming Content Viewing, according to The Gauge

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Feb 16, 2023, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nielsen's January 2023 TV usage summary from The Gauge, the media measurement company's monthly snapshot of total TV and streaming consumption in the U.S., revealed that January was defined by heavy TV usage, most notably of sports and broadcast content, and overall viewing was up 1.3% compared to December 2022.

The Gauge: January 2023 snapshot of total TV usage, per Nielsen.

Despite the 1.3% monthly increase of overall TV usage, only the broadcast category gained in share compared to December, finishing the month at 24.9% of total TV usage. Broadcast content viewing rose 2.1% in January, led by a 55% jump in sports viewing, and a nearly 30% increase in viewing to the drama genre, accounting for 25.3% and 23.4% of broadcast content consumption, respectively. Broadcast sports programming was dominated by the NFL playoffs, which made up the top 10 telecasts for the category in January. On a yearly basis, broadcast content viewing was down 6% compared with January 2022.

Viewing to streaming content increased 1.2% compared to December, and the streaming category represented 38.1% of total TV viewing in January. Time spent watching streaming content was up 31.8% in January compared with the year prior, and the category gained 9.2 share points, climbing from 28.9% to 38.1% of total TV usage.

Across the streamers, Amazon Prime Video saw the largest monthly usage increase in January, recording a 9.3% uptick in viewing (+0.2 share pts.) that was driven by its original series, Jack Ryan, and original movie, Shotgun Wedding. Hulu saw a 2.9% bump in viewing in January, translating to an additional 0.1 share points compared with December. Viewing to Disney+ content declined 9.9% versus last month (-0.2 share pts.), due, at least in part, to the post-December drop in holiday movie viewing.

Broadcast and cable content viewing on MVPD (multichannel video programming distributor) and vMVPD (virtual multichannel video programming distributor) streaming apps represented 5.3% of total television usage and 13.9% of streaming usage in January. YouTube TV accounted for 14.9% of YouTube viewing (1.3 share points), and Hulu Live made up 9.1% of Hulu viewing (0.3 share points). Broadcast and cable content viewed through MVPD/vMVPD streaming apps also credits the respective broadcast or cable category.

Cable viewing was fairly flat versus December, dropping 0.3% to end the month with a 30.4% share of TV. Cable sports viewing jumped 22% in January, but viewing to the feature film genre—which had been up in November and December—saw a 19% decline. Cable news viewing experienced another dip (-4%), but remains the most-watched cable genre. On a year-over-year basis, time spent watching cable content declined 14.6%.

About The Gauge
The Gauge is Nielsen's monthly snapshot of total TV and streaming usage in the U.S. It is underpinned by Nielsen's TV ratings service, in addition to Nielsen Streaming Platform Ratings which 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 levels. 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.

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