Streaming Represented 36.4% of TV Usage in May, Roku Channel Obtains 1.1% Share, according to Nielsen's The Gauge™

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Jun 20, 2023, 08:00 ET

Roku Channel is the third FAST service to be independently reported in The Gauge.

NEW YORK, June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Streaming accounted for 36.4% of time spent watching TV in the U.S. in May, according to Nielsen's May 2023 report of The Gauge™, the media measurement company's monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs via television. By comparison, 31.1% of TV viewing was spent watching cable content, and 22.8% with broadcast content.

The Gauge, May 2023. Nielsen's monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs via television.

Following trends that are typical for this time of year, total TV usage in the U.S. declined for the fourth consecutive month in May, falling 4.4% from April. Comparatively, time spent watching TV declined 2.7% over the same period in 2022.

Time spent streaming (via a television) increased 2.5% in May versus April, and streaming's share of TV usage jumped from 34.0% to 36.4%. While a technical enhancement* was a factor in the monthly uptick, approximately half of the increase was a reflection of viewing behavior alone.

Representing 1.1% of TV usage in May, the Roku Channel is the latest streaming service, and third free ad-supported television (FAST) service, to obtain stand-alone coverage in The Gauge. Combined, the three FAST services that are independently reported in The Gauge (Pluto TV, Tubi TV, Roku Channel) are each comparable in usage to Peacock and HBO Max, and in aggregate, accounted for 3.3% of TV time this month.

Netflix and Amazon Prime Video each gained momentum in May, posting usage gains of 9.2% (+1.0 pts.) and 5.1% (+0.3 pts.), respectively. Roughly half of Netflix's increase was due to the aforementioned technical enhancement, coupled with the fact that the top three streaming titles this month were Netflix Originals, including Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (5.4 billion viewing minutes), A Man Called Otto (3.1 billion) and The Mother (3.0 billion). Prime Video benefited from the strength of its original series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Citadel, which combined for 2.7 billion viewing minutes. YouTube maintained its stance as the top streaming platform for the fourth consecutive month, gaining 0.4 share points in May (0.9% usage increase) to account for 8.5% of TV.

Viewing via MVPD (multichannel video programming distributor) and vMVPD (virtual multichannel video programming distributor) streaming apps represented 5.5%** of total television use in May, including 1.3% attributed to YouTube TV, and 0.4% to Hulu Live. Compared with May 2022, overall streaming consumption has increased by more than 30%, and streaming's share of TV has risen 8.2 share points.

Broadcast and cable viewing each fell 5.5% and 5.4%, respectively, in May versus April, and each surrendered 0.3 share points. Broadcast sports viewing was down 25% in May compared with April, and the genre represented 7.9% of broadcast's 22.8% share. However, the Kentucky Derby still secured the top broadcast program for the month, drawing 14.5 million viewers. By contrast, cable sports viewership rose 12% in May. The increase was driven by the extensive coverage of the NBA Finals on ESPN and TNT, which also accounted for the top four cable programs this month. Additionally, despite the traction that the May 10 CNN Town Hall generated, cable news viewing fell more than 11% from April.

On a year-over-year basis, broadcast viewing was down 5.6% (-1.7 pts.), and cable viewing was down 13.7% (-5.4 pts.).

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.

*Technical Enhancement: In May, Nielsen implemented a technical enhancement to its Streaming Platform Ratings solution (which underpins The Gauge) that affected streaming via cable set-top boxes. Previously, set-top box streaming appeared in the "other" category of The Gauge. Now, content streamed via a cable set-top box that is identified as a "streaming original" is credited to the appropriate streaming service, and by extension, the overall streaming category (deducted from "other"). Though it will vary based on various factors, impact data from prior intervals indicates an approximate 1.5% share impact on total streaming.

**Beginning with The Gauge report from February 2023, viewing that occurs via MVPD and vMVPD streaming apps (e.g. YouTube TV, Hulu Live, DirecTV, Charter/Spectrum) no longer credits to the streaming category, as these apps primarily deliver live broadcast and cable programming. Viewing to broadcast and cable content has always been reflected in the corresponding broadcast or cable category, including viewing that occurs via MVPD/vMVPD apps.

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