For First Time, Streaming Viewing Topped Broadcast And Cable Combined In May

More and more, life is but a stream for us consumers of TV.

Nielsen's latest monthly viewership report, titled The Gauge, shows that for the month of May, TV viewing done via streaming eclipsed broadcast and cable combined for the first time ever.

According to The Gauge, streaming represented 44.8% of TV viewership in May — its largest share to date — while broadcast (with 20.1%) and cable (24.1%) combined to represent 44.2% of TV viewership.

Nielsen notes that since The Gauge's launch four years ago, streaming has seen a usage increase of 71%, while broadcast and cable viewing have declined (down 21% and 39%, respectively).

"It's fitting that this inflection point coincides with the four-year anniversary of Nielsen's The Gauge, which has become the gold standard for streaming TV measurement," Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao said in a statement. "It's also a credit to media companies, who have deftly adapted their programming strategies to meet their viewers where they are watching TV — whether it's on streaming or linear platforms."

Also in that four-year span, several more streaming services are now reported on by The Gauge, by having attained a full share point of TV usage. They join the OGs Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Prime Video and Disney+.

Nielsen says that "free services have been a major driver of streaming's overall success," with YouTube Main (excluding YouTube TV) exhibiting steady, significant growth (+120%) since 2021. "Additionally, FAST services have become increasingly popular, and three have reached the reportable threshold in The Gauge," with PlutoTV, Roku Channel and Tubi combining for 5.7% of total TV viewing in May — more than any individual broadcast network.