Viewership on streaming platforms like Netflix or Disney+ surpassed cable for the first time in the US last month, marking a significant shift in how people consume television content across the country.
According to Nielsen’s monthly ratings report, the number of streams increased by 22.6% in July compared to the same month last year, covering 34.8% of all television viewers in total and breaking a record. Viewers spent nearly 191 billion minutes per week on streaming platforms throughout July.
On the other hand, in July, cable television viewership decreased by 8.9% and constituted 34.4% of all viewers, while viewers of television broadcasts decreased by 9.8% and constituted 21.6% of all television viewers.
Despite experiencing a significant loss of subscribers earlier this year, Netflix maintained its lead among other streaming platforms, accounting for 7.7% of total streaming views in July. This partial success is mainly due to the release of the highly anticipated fourth season of Stranger Things, which watched 18 billion minutes during that month. YouTube, Hulu and Amazon Prime also saw record highs, reaching 7.3%, 3.6% and 3% viewership last month, respectively.
Streaming numbers typically outpace television broadcasts, but this marks the first time streaming services have crossed cable since Nielsen began collecting data on television viewership in 2020. Streaming services have continued to grow in viewership over the past two years, showing that times have changed in television as more people flock to the rapidly consumable television format in the US. It’s worth noting, though, that the numbers still show that traditional TV (both cable and air broadcast together) makes up the majority of television viewers.
While many people proudly say they “cut the cord” on cable television, streaming services are visibly a lot like cable TV. While streaming is ahead for now, with the sports season kicking off in the fall, it could soon regain the edge of cable and regain some of its core viewers, ending the lead of streaming services for a while.
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