Streaming climbs to new heights again in April despite a dip in total TV viewing – Nielsen

Another milestone was reached by streaming in April, when audiences spent over 30% of their TV time viewing video-over-the-top content. For the first-time, streaming has exceeded 30% of all TV usage. This increase in share was supported by nearly the same amount of streaming than in March, despite the 2.1% drop in total TV viewing. Seasonally, this is reflective of the usage at the beginning of spring.

As we’ve been tracking, the growth of the streaming industry has welcomed an array of new entrants, each with their own roster of content offerings. That growth is reflected in the rising engagement with the “other streaming” category, which has gained more than two full share points since SME debuted The Gauge with May 2021 TV viewing data. In April HBO Max’s share grew to 1%. This is the threshold that allows for stand-alone representation as shown in the chart below. 

Although streaming volume was steady month over month, cable and broadcast saw their respective viewing figures drop by 3.3% and 2.5%. Broadcast viewers saw 14.7% less drama and 38.2% less sports. A 16.9% decrease in news viewing was reflected in the dip in cable TV viewing. However, there was a 17% increase of sports viewing due to both the NCAA basketball championships and the NBA.

Let me take you to the details of our methodology.

The video gives you a glimpse into the workings of The Gauge by Brian Fuhrer.

METHODOLOGY & FREQUENTLY QUESTED QUESTIONS

The Gauge is a monthly analysis of consumers’ access to content on key TV delivery channels, such as Broadcast, Streaming and Cable. The chart also shows the breakdown of major streaming distributors. It shows both the percentage of total television use by each streaming distributor and by category.

The Gauge’s data are derived from two weighted panels. They then combine to make the graphic. SME’s streaming data is derived from a subset of Streaming Meter-enabled TV households within the National TV panel. The linear TV sources (Broadcast and Cable), as well as total usage are based on viewing from SME’s overall TV panel.

The data are based upon a particular viewing period. The data, representing a 5 week month, includes a combination of Live+7 for weeks 1 – 4 in the data time period. Notice: Live+7 covers live viewing of television and watching up to seven days after. You can view up to 3 days after the broadcast, and live +3 is television viewing.

Within The Gauge, “Other” includes all other TV. All other TV, including unmeasured source tuning, streaming via a cable set-top box, gaming and any other device (DVD player) are included in this category. Because streaming via cable set top boxes does not credit respective streaming distributors, these are included in the “Other” category. SME will continue to work towards crediting individual streaming distributors via cable set-top boxes as we improve our Streaming Meter technology.

Streaming platforms listed as “Other Streaming” includes any high-bandwidth video streaming on television that is not individually broken out.

Hulu Live is available for viewing, as well as Youtube TV viewing.

Ecoded Linear Streaming, also known as encoded TV, can be found under the Broadcast or Cable group (linear TV), as well as the Streaming and Other streaming categories e.g. Hulu TV, Youtube TV, and Other Streaming MVPD/vMVPD Apps. Note: MVPD (multichannel video programming distributor) is a service which provides multiple TV channels. Distributors that combine linear TV content from the major networks into a single subscription package and make it accessible to all devices connected via broadband internet are called vMVPDs.