Streaming Hits Record Viewership High as Free Services Tubi and Roku Set All-Time Records
Summer is usually a good time of year for streamers, and 2024 looks like it could surpass past years thanks to post-strike enthusiasm.
Summer may still technically be a few days away, but streaming providers — especially the free ones — are already basking in the season’s warmth. According to newly released data from Nielsen’s monthly The Gauge report for May, streaming claimed a new record high percentage of total TV viewing time during the month. It also showed that free streaming services such as The Roku Channel and Tubi were continuing to gain new viewers, and — perhaps most surprisingly — that Netflix was suffering a substantial decline compared to the summer of 2023.
Key Details:
- Tubi accounted for the same amount of monthly viewing as Disney+ in May, and Roku Channel edged out premium streamers like Max and Peacock.
- Cable dropped to 28.2% of total TV viewing, after two straight months of gains.
- Netflix’s share of viewing has dipped almost a full percentage point since last July, but it’s probably not time to hit the panic button just yet.
The data from Nielsen shows that streaming hit a record high of 38.8% of total TV viewing during the month of May. That bests its old record by one-tenth of a percentage point, as streaming accounted for 38.7% of all TV viewing in July 2023.
Free streaming platforms The Roku Channel and Tubi were the standout performers of the month. Tubi claimed 1.8% of TV watching during the month, which was the same amount that Disney+ accounted for. That beat out The Roku Channel’s 1.5% of TV viewing, but Roku’s number was still high enough to best on-demand streamers like Max, Paramount+, and Peacock. All streamers measured by Nielsen were above the coveted 1% threshold except Pluto TV, which still claimed 0.9% of all TV watched in May. The Roku Channel and Tubi — both free streamers — hit new record highs, climbing 36% and 43% respectively year-over-year.
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Cable had seen two consecutive months of growth in its share of total TV viewing, but that trend ended in May. During the month, cable accounted for 28.2% of all TV viewed, while broadcast tallied 22.3%. The finale of “Young Sheldon” during the month proved to be a microcosm of the state of the industry, delivering 11.7 million viewers in the seven days after its initial broadcast airing and 6 billion total viewing hours during the month, with about half of that audience coming from on-demand streaming.
Does Data Show Netflix is In Trouble?
One of the most fascinating data points from Nielsen’s latest report is the fact that Netflix has seen its share of total TV viewership decline by 0.9% since July 2023. Those viewers have not departed from the streaming ecosystem, as corresponding gains for free services like Tubi and The Roku Channel demonstrate.
Despite the decline in viewership for Netflix, the streamer likely doesn’t have to panic anytime soon. Its new season of “Bridgerton” was the most-watched streaming title in May according to Nielsen, and the platform still stands well above on-demand competitors. YouTube’s free video-sharing platform is the only streamer with a larger share of total TV time than Netflix, and the next-closest competitor, which is Hulu, was viewed less than half as much as Netflix in May.
Still, it will be worth keeping an eye on Netflix as the year goes along to see if the decline in viewers year-over-year is a blip, or the start of a trend. Netflix had a well-stocked pipeline of shows and movies to release when the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes began, but as the months have gone on the inventory of new titles released has slowed. Productions are getting back on track now, and the 2024 fall TV season will be more or less back to normal, so it will be fascinating to see if Netflix equalizes or continues to lose viewership share once broadcast and cable shows begin releasing new seasons in a few months.
The Summer of Streaming has likely just begun, as new seasons of “House of the Dragon” on Max and “The Boys” on Prime Video are now available, as is the second half of “Bridgerton” Season 3. That could mean more record-setting numbers for streaming platform before fall settles in and football season snatches a good portion of streaming’s viewership share once again.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Amazon Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.