THE GAUGE: NIELSEN'S MONTHLY TOTAL TV AND STREAMING SNAPSHOT FOR JANUARY

Streaming reaches all-time high in first month of 2022 as overall television usage increases 8%, according to The Gauge

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Feb 17, 2022, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gauge, the monthly total TV and streaming snapshot from Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN), revealed that streaming in the U.S. reached a new all-time high in January in total minutes during a week, the highest average weekly figure of any month, and share of total television usage. In the first month of 2022, streaming averaged over 180 billion minutes per week, delivering a record 28.9% of total television usage.

According to The Gauge, the first week of January totaled 197.6 billion minutes of streaming, handily shattering the previous record of 183 billion minutes which was previously set just weeks before, during 2021's Christmas week. The 12% increase in volume compared to December was the highest of any category, and produced a 1.1% increase in streaming share of total TV usage.

Observing streaming platforms, viewing was driven primarily by high-profile titles such as Encanto on Disney+, and the new seasons of Ozark, Cobra Kai, and The Witcher on Netflix. Total usage on Disney+ was up 25%, in addition to a 22% viewing increase for Amazon Prime, resulting in a 0.3% total share increase for both services, respectively.

Overall television usage was up 8% as each category increased its viewership from U.S. audiences. Notably, broadcast consumption was up 9%, driven by a compelling slate of NFL playoff games and increased engagement with both broadcast dramas and comedies, which were up 22% and 17%, respectively, compared to December 2021. The cable category, despite being up 3% in usage, lost 1.7 share points to finish at 35.6% of television viewing, primarily due to the seasonal shift away from holiday movies.

Measuring and monitoring consumers' streaming behavior in a comparable way against linear TV usage is a critical source of information for the industry as content creators, media companies, streaming platforms, advertisers, industry groups, talent agencies and the talent themselves all seek clarity around the various video content that consumers engage with.

About The Gauge
Nielsen's The Gauge is underpinned by both its TV ratings service as well as Streaming Platform Ratings, the latter provides clients with measurement detailing 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 level. 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.

An S&P 500 company, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) operates around the world in more than 55 countries. Learn more at www.nielsen.com or www.nielsen.com/investors and connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE Nielsen