Modern OTT platforms have won the war against traditional TV as streaming grabbed a record 38.7 percent of total TV usage in July, with acquired titles outpacing new originals in the US, a new report has revealed.
In aggregate, the heavy viewing levels pushed streaming’s share of TV to 38.7 percent, a new record, with Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube all hitting all-time highs, according to data from Nielsen.
Overall, total broadcast viewing was down 3.6 percent to finish the month at 20 percent of TV, representing a new low. On a year-over-year basis, broadcast usage was down 5.4 percent.
Cable viewing slipped as well, losing a full share point to capture 29.6 percent of TV in July.
Linear TV now accounts for less than 50 percent of all TV usage.
“While overall TV usage was up just slightly from June (0.2 percent), viewing among people under the age of 18 increased 4 percent, and viewing among adults 18 and older fell 0.3 percent,” the report mentioned.
These trends resulted in increased streaming and “other” usage, which is primarily attributed to video game consoles.
Comparatively, sports on broadcast generated almost 25 billion viewing minutes in July, albeit across a range of channels in the US.
The arrival of fall will likely result in a seasonal shift in TV viewing, especially with the arrival of a new NFL season.
In November 2022, for example, sports accounted for 150 billion viewing minutes on the broadcast.
“The potential for less new original primetime content this fall presents a unique situation for broadcast and cable, but the recent success of acquired programming on streaming channels highlights the outsized strength of quality content, regardless of when it was created,” said the report.
