TV usage grew 2.3% in July as people started tuning in to watch the Paris Olympics on NBC and Peacock, according to Nielsen.
Led by Peacock, which jumped 33%, streaming’s share of TV usage climbed to 41.4%, its largest share ever, and the largest share ever for streaming, broadcast or cable since Nielsen began issuing monthly updates.
Peacock was not the only streaming service with a big July. YouTube became the first streamer to register a share of more than 10%.
HIstorically, with the broadcast networks in reruns, July has not been a big month for TV usage. But it has usually been a month in which streaming’s share increased.
But the Paris Olympics were a very big deal, with the top five–and seven of the top 10--telecasts in the month.
In addition to increasing its share from 40.3% in June, total streaming usage increased by 5%.
YouTube was the top streamer with a 10.4% share in the month, up from 9.9% in June.
Netflix had an 8.4% share unchanged from June; Prime Video share share was 3.4%, up from 3.1%; Hulu had a 2.7% share, down from 3%; Disney Plus’ share grew to 2.1% from 2%; Tubi also had a 2.1% share, up from 2%; The Roku Channel’s share was 1.6% compared to 1.5%; Peacock’s share jumped to 1.5% from 1.2%; Max had a 1.4% share, unchanged; Paramount Plus had a 1.1% share, unchanged and Pluto TV’s share was 0.7% down form 0.8% in June.
Max’s House of the Dragon was the biggest streaming show with 4.7 billion viewing minutes, followed by Bluey on Disney Plus, which had a record month in terms of share. The Boys had 4.2 billion viewing minutes, boosting Prime Video. In addition to the Olympics, Peacock had a hot show in Love Island.
Streaming had 10 titles that exceeded 1 billion viewing minutes and four of the top 10 days for streaming took place in July.
The Olympics brought NBC an average of 10 million viewers on July 28. For the month, broadcast had a 20.3% share, down from 20.5% in June. Broadcast viewing in July was up 5% from a year ago, when it was at a record low.
Cable usage in July was even with June, but its share dipped to 26.7% from 27/2%. The Republican National Convention and coverage ofthe shooting of former President Trump boosted cable news by 23% compared to June.
