NEW YORK—July TV viewing marked a notable milestone in the evolution of how consumers watch TV and their use of streaming platforms, YouTube moved into the lead among media distributors in the July 2024 Media Distributor Gauge report, Nielsen’s monthly view of total TV consumption by media company.
In July time spent watching YouTube on television was up 7% compared to June, leading the streaming platform to account for 10.4% of total TV in July (up from 9.9%). This marks the first time a streaming platform ranks first in the Media Distributor Gauge chart, and the first time a streamer has exceeded 10% of total TV usage in a given month. Disney, which owns both linear networks and streaming services was second with a 9.9% share.
Nielsen noted that seasonality plays a significant role in viewing behavior fluctuations observed throughout the year, and summer months typically include increases in both streaming viewership and kids’ total TV usage.
As such, YouTube’s leap to the top media distributor in July was driven largely by school-aged viewers (P2-17) who accounted for nearly 30% of YouTube viewership this month, and 13% of TV viewership overall—the largest usage total for that age demographic since July 2023, Nielsen said.
TV viewing in July was also impacted by increased political news coverage and the start of the Summer Olympics. Led by coverage of the Republican National Convention, Fox News Channel saw a 39% bump in viewing this month, while Tubi notched 6% growth compared to June. Both entities helped drive a 16% increase for Fox overall. Fox added a 0.8 share point to its share of TV to finish July with 7.4% total TV usage, marking the company’s largest share of TV so far this year and moving it to 5th among media distributors.
Even with just three days of Olympics coverage included in the July reporting interval, the impact the Summer Games had on NBCUniversal was evident, the Nielsen data showed.
NBCU’s share of TV climbed from 8.5% in June to 9.5% in July, and viewership across all NBCU distribution channels was up 14%, driven by a 33% increase for Peacock and a 24% increase across broadcast affiliates.
Disney finished July with the second largest share of TV at 9.9% after recording a 0.9 share point loss from June. However, year-to-date totals (January – July) show that Disney leads all media distributors with 11.0% of TV viewing through seven months, followed by YouTube at 9.6% and NBCU at 9.1%. A wider lens look further emphasizes the potential impact of monthly factors like content availability and time of year.
The summer-to-fall transition is one of the most dynamic in the TV viewing landscape each year. And this year, on top of the expected return of football and a new season of scripted programming, we also factor in major TV events including the Summer Olympics and the lead up to the presidential election. With these variables in the mix, TV viewership over the next few months could be as exciting as the content that drives it.
The measurement month of July 2024 included four weeks: 07/01/2024 through 07/28/2024. Nielsen measurement weeks begin on Mondays and run through the following Sunday.
