Streaming outguns broadcast TV in US in July
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| 19 August 2022
The US streaming industry has been snapping at the heels of broadcast in terms of viewing since May 2022, hitting four consecutive months of viewership highs, and has now become the premier source of viewing according to the latest Nielsen Gauge report.
NIelsen 19Aug20222
The Gauge provides a monthly macroanalysis of how consumers are accessing content across key television delivery platforms, including broadcast, streaming, cable and other sources.

The study showed that streaming’s ascendency was assisted by the traditional paucity of new content for traditional television in summer months and reduced sports programming. The Gauge has shown streaming viewership exceeding broadcast viewing before in a given month but the analysis for July 2022 is the first time it has also surpassed cable viewing.

In addition to claiming the largest viewership share during the month, audiences watched an average of 190.9 billion minutes of streamed content per week—easily surpassing the 169.9 billion minutes that audiences watched during the pandemic lockdown period back in April 2020. Excluding the week beginning 27 December 2021, the five weeks of July 2022 represented the highest-volume streaming weeks on record, according to Nielsen measurement.

Aside from the shifting viewership shares, total TV usage during the month was virtually identical to that of June, as well as July 2021. Nielsen said that the trends continue to highlight that with other variables held constant, Americans are expanding their streaming consumption and the platforms that they use.

Broadcast, at 21.6% share of television, was down 3.7% on volume compared with last month, representing a 0.8 share point dip. On a year-on-year basis, the shift in viewing behaviour is more evident, as broadcast viewing dropped 9.8% for a loss of 2.3 share points. Given the end of the NHL and NBA playoffs in June, the 41% drop in sports viewing was said to be a factor in the drop from 2021 when there was some Olympics content in addition to NHL and NBA, the drop was 43%.

From June 2022, cable usage dropped 2%, resulting in a loss of 0.7 percentage points. From last July, cable usage was down 8.9% and 3.3 share points. Engagement with cable genres was fairly flat in July, with sports posting the biggest decline—dropping 15.4% for the month and 34% from a year ago.

Overall, the study showed streaming usage grew 3.2% from June. On a year-on-year basis, streaming volume increased 22.6%, growing its share of usage by 6.5 points. In July, Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix and YouTube reached new heights again. Netflix gained 8% share, boosted by the nearly 18 billion minutes of Stranger Things that viewers watched, complemented by the nearly 11 billion minutes of combined viewing of Virgin River and The Umbrella Academy. Movies The Gray Man and The Sea Beast contributed over 5 billion minutes.

The Nielsen Gauge for July 2022 also showed the increasing impact of content from digital MVPDs such as Hulu Live and YouTube TV and traditional cable apps from the likes Comcast, Charter and Spectrum. This content now represents 11.2% of streaming and 3.9% of total TV usage.