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After a two-month boost fueled by the World Cup, TV usage was suspended in August as children and teenagers returned to school and adults awaited the start of the soccer season, according to Nielsen.
But it wasn’t enough to stop YouTube, which got ahead of the decline, increasing its share of TV viewing by 6% to 15.8% higher than the peak and maintaining its lead in Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge. While viewing among 6- to 17-year-olds faced back-to-school headwinds, YouTube benefited from a 9% increase in viewing among adults 50 and older.
Overall, total TV usage fell 4.4% in the month, although cable and streaming managed to grow their share of viewing to 18.9% and 49.6%.
Streaming gained 0.6 share points despite overall sector usage down 3.2% for the month. Cable usage declined 3%, but the category gained 0.2 share points led by a 26% rebound in sports viewing, nearly offsetting July’s 27% decline. But news was their biggest genre, accounting for 25% of its viewing compared to 8.2% for sports.
Meanwhile, broadcast viewing fell 14% and lost 0.2 share points, ending the month with 17.5% of TV viewing.
Sports viewing fell to less than 9% of the category’s viewing in August, compared to 30% in July, while dramas and news represented 22% and 18% of broadcast viewing, respectively. Additionally, while Hispanic audiences represented a 30% increase in broadcast viewing from May to June, and consistent viewing through July, broadcast usage among Hispanic viewers declined 30% in August.
News programming dominated the broadcast ratings, with ABC World News Tonight topping both the program and telecast lists, while NBC’s NFL preseason coverage was sixth among broadcast television, offering a preview of football’s return in September. ESPN’s coverage of the August 29 North Carolina-TCU college football game topped the cable telecast ratings.
Behind YouTube was Disney, which returned to second place among media distributors with a 9.3% share of TV viewing. Its streaming business accounted for 4.8% of the total, an increase of 0.1 share point.
Although Netflix finished in second place among individual streaming platforms with a share of 7.7%, it was the third largest media distributor for the month. Rounding out the top five were NBCUniversal/Versant, which tied with Netflix when they merged, and Paramount, which ended the month with a 6.8% share.
On their own, NBCUniversal and Versant accounted for 5% and 2.2% of TV viewing, respectively. Peacock accounted for 1.6% of TV viewing following the results of Telemundo’s World Cup coverage and the final season of Love Island USA in July, but was up 0.2 share points compared to a year ago. Paramount’s streaming division, which includes Paramount+ and Pluto TV, ended August with 2.3% of TV viewing.
Completing the rest of the list was Fox with 5.6%, with Tubi making up 1.9% of the total; Warner Bros Discovery with 5.3%, with its streaming business accounting for 1.4% of the total; Amazon with 4.3%, with Prime Video accounting for 4.2% of the total; Roku Channel with 2.9%; Scripts by 1.6%; Weigel Broadcasting with 1.4%; Hallmark and A&E Networks with 0.8% each and AMC Networks with 0.6%.
The August data does not reflect a one-time methodology change by Nielsen, which begins starting with September’s viewership figures.
It also does not reflect the closing of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. Discovery, which would give the two companies a total share of 12.1% of TV viewers, placing it as the second largest media distributor behind YouTube.
If regulatory approval is obtained for Fox’s $22 billion purchase of Roku, the Murdoch media giant would become the fourth largest media distributor with an 8.5% share based on August figures. That deal, approved by shareholders from both companies, is expected to close in the first half of 2027.
“We continue to work closely with clients to guide them through the procedural change, sharing more impact data and allowing additional time to evaluate the changes,” Nielsen said in a statement. “Therefore, Nielsen will publish the September and October times together later this year.”
