Streaming set another high for TV use in the United States in July — which is not exactly a new development.
July was the sixth consecutive month that streamers have taken a record-high share of viewing, with 47.3 percent of all TV use, according to Nielsen. That’s up from 46 percent in June and about six points higher than it was in July 2024 (41.4 percent).
The gains for streaming came largely at the expense of cable, which came in at 22.2 percent of TV use for the July reporting period (which ran from June 30-July 27). That was down from 23.4 percent a month earlier, due largely to double-digit declines in both news and sports coverage compared to June.
Broadcast networks were largely stable month to month, albeit at a record low in the four-year history of Nielsen’s Gauge rankings. They accounted for 18.4 percent of viewing, down a tick from 18.5 percent in June.
In fact, the two largest indivdual streamers — YouTube (13.4 percent) and Netflix (8.8 percent) — by themselves equaled the amount of usage for cable and easily outdrew broadcast viewing. Both hit their highest monthly marks to date, as did the Roku Channel (2.8 percent).
Peacock tied its highest mark (excluding months with Olympics coverage) of 1.6 percent of TV use, thanks in large part to Love Island USA, which at 5.3 billion minutes of viewing was second only to Netflix’s Squid Game (5.4 billion minutes) among streaming titles for the month.
Nielsen’s Gauge rankings for July, and the top 10 streaming titles of the month, are below.