In a historic first, Americans last month spent more time consuming content on streaming services like Netflix than they did enjoying content on cable TV and broadcast networks. Not only that, but the amount of time people watched streaming services was greater than time spent watching cable TV and broadcast channels combined. The news comes to us from Nielsen and was originally brought to light by The New York Times.
While streaming has been more popular than cable since late 2022, this marks the first time that hours spent on streaming services outpaced cable and broadcast TV together. For the month gone by, streaming accounted for a 45% share of viewing hours across the country. Cable and broadcast TV, meanwhile, accounted for a 44% share of viewing hours.
Older viewers are flocking to streaming services
One of the more interesting data points from the report is that the aforementioned milestone isn’t rooted in younger viewers cutting the cord. Rather, it’s the result of older Americans finally coming around to streaming. But these older viewers aren’t necessarily watching HBO and Netflix en masse. On the contrary, the report reveals that older viewers are gravitating towards free streaming platforms like Tubi, a dynamic that may be attributable to two factors.
For starters, it’s plausible that many Americans over the age of 65 are simply more frugal or money conscious when it comes to enjoying entertainment. Second, platforms like Tubi house a lot of older TV content that may be luring viewers in. For instance, Tubi has an entire section dubbed Nostalgia TV filled with older titles like Kojak, Murder, She Wrote, Gilligan’s Island, I Dream of Jeanie, and many more.
The NYT notes:
Older viewers watch a lot of television, more than any other cohort — one-third of all viewing comes from this group. And they have been moving to streaming in droves in the last few years — particularly to platforms that are free and require no subscription. For instance, since 2023, viewers over 65 are the fastest-growing age group for watching YouTube off a television set.
Quality shows are more likely to be found on streaming services
At the same time, it’s no secret that cable and broadcast TV are having a tough time competing with streaming services when it comes to churning out compelling content. In other words, it’s not just a cost issue but a quality issue. Not too long ago, top-tier content would routinely debut on cable TV and eventually make its way over to streaming services like Netflix. Mad Men and Breaking Bad are two prime examples. These days, however, top-tier TV seems to debut almost exclusively on streaming services, whether it be Succession, Hacks, Ted Lasso, or The Handmaid’s Tale.
The reason behind this is likely two-fold. For starters, streamers typically give creators more artistic freedom during production, not to mention more breathing room when it comes to violence and language. Second, companies like Netflix and Apple aren’t afraid to throw around huge sums of money that broadcast networks might not want to match. And in a way, it almost becomes a circular issue. Back in the day, networks like NBC had no problem doling out $1 million per episode to each of the main actors on Friends. It was a huge sum of money, but the upside was that the show was immensely popular and watched by millions. Now, with eyeballs moving away from broadcast TV, the justification for expending huge amounts of money on a show is harder to make.
Meanwhile, Apple reportedly spent upwards of $20 million per episode on the second season of Severance. Netflix spent nearly $30 million per episode on Stranger Things season 4.
Cable TV and broadcast TV are down but not out
Another interesting data point is that cable TV viewership alone has dropped by nearly 40% in less than 5 years.
The NYT adds:
Cable networks like USA, TBS and MTV were rich with original programming just a few years ago, but they air few scripted shows now. That is because media executives have rapidly reordered their budgets, steering investment toward their streaming services.
Indeed, the US used to produce all sorts of great shows, like Burn Notice and Mr. Robot. And MTV these days seemingly plays episodes of Ridiculousness on an endless loop, with periodic breaks for filler TV like Teen Mom 2 and various Jersey Shore spinoffs.
All told, I don’t think the Nielsen report suggests that cable and broadcast TV are on the way out. After all, together they still account for 44% of all time spent watching TV. It’s also important to remember that cable and broadcast TV still dominate the market when it comes to live sports. What the report does indicate, I think, is that cable and broadcast TV are on their way towards becoming more niche outlets for TV as more and more eyeballs flock to streaming sites like HBO, Netflix, and Hulu.
The breakdown of time spent watching TV across all the streaming services is notable in and of itself. Not surprisingly, YouTube occupies the top spot with a 12.5% share, followed by Netflix with a 7.5% share, and Disney coming in third with a 5% share. Tubi, Paramount, and Amazon Prime are all in the 2.2 to 3.5% range, with Peacock sitting in last place with a 1.4% share.
Lastly, the dominance of streaming services shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The writing has been on the wall for some time now. To wit, back in 2018 we reported that fewer people were signing up for cable in the first place. Combined with the growing rate of cord-cutting, the Nielsen report makes perfect sense.
