The amount of total TV viewing time in July was almost identical to that of July 2021, but streaming comprised a considerably greater portion of the TV diet. In fact, the latest report from Nielsen indicates that except for the week of December 27, 2021, “the five weeks of July 2022 represent the highest-volume streaming weeks on record.”
On a year-over-year basis, streaming volume grew by 22.6%, according to Nielsen’s figures. What’s more, streaming’s share of total TV time jumped by 6.5% points, leading to another milestone: for the first time, in July, streaming video accounted for a larger share (34.8%) of total TV time than cable (34.4%). Just a year earlier, cable’s share of total TV time was almost 10% points higher than streaming (37.7% and 28.3%, respectively), indicating just how much viewing patterns have shifted in that timespan.
Meanwhile, broadcast’s share of TV time continued to recede in July, down to 21.6% from a peak of 28.4% in October 2021. This in part owes to a 41% month-over-month drop in sports viewing as both the NHL and NBA playoffs ended in June. Sports viewing was also down on cable, but by a more modest 15.4%.
Nielsen also highlights the role of content from digital MVPDs such as Hulu Live and YouTube TV, as well as traditional cable apps from the likes of Comcast and Charter/Spectrum. These now combine for 11.2% share of streaming and 3.9% of total TV usage. This brings to mind a recent declaration from Kantar: “Streaming has gone full circle, once being the destination to avoid Cable TV ads, to increasingly relying on ads to drive growth.”
Nonetheless, Netflix continued to dominate the streaming category in July, and accounted for 8% share of total TV time, buoyed by the almost 11 billion minutes of Stranger Things that viewers watched. (The fourth season of the series generated $27.4 million in combined product placement value for brands.)
YouTube (including YouTube TV) was next at 7.3% share of total TV time, followed by Hulu (including Hulu Live), which turned in a record month at 3.6% share of total TV time.
For more, check out Nielsen’s stats here.
