Broadcast TV slipped to a record-low 18.5% of overall viewing in June as streaming climbed to 46% of the total, Nielsen said in its latest Gauge report.
The absence of meaningful sports, notably football, as well as prime time episodes after series wrapped their seasons in May, sent broadcast networks down 5% from May. The combined share of broadcast and cable fell from 44.2% in May to 41.9% in June. Cable viewing was fairly flat compared to May, but the category still lost 0.7 share points due to the larger increase in overall TV usage, Nielsen said.
Streaming, paced by Netflix and Peacock, captured 46% of viewing. Time spent streaming rose 5.4% in June compared with May.
Netflix, thanks to new originals like Ginny & Georgia, grew its viewing 13.5% in June compared with May and its 8.7 billion minutes of viewing represented 8.3% of total tune-in. Acquired titles Animal Kingdom and Blindspot, also contributed to the Netflix surge. The first three days of the third and final season of Squid Game also came during the month of June.
Peacock viewing jumped 13.4% in June thanks to Love Island USA, but the NBCUniversal platform accounted for a modest 1.5% of overall viewing.
In terms of demographics, kids and teens drove the surge in streaming. With school out for most young people, TV usage among kids 6 to 17 increased 27% compared with May, with streaming accounting for two-thirds of the group’s TV time. The “other” category, which includes video game console and set-top box usage on TVs, shot up 41% in June, Nielsen said.
While the monthly snapshot presented a grim picture for linear TV, the NBC Finals on ABC accounted for the top seven telecasts of the month. Cable news also notched a 12% gain over May viewing, with special programming providing a boost along with breaking news. The Army 250 Parade on Fox News Channel ranked fifth among cable programs with 2.8 million viewers, and the live broadcast of Broadway play Goodnight and Good Luck on CNN came in seventh among cable programs in June with 2.4 million viewers.