Streaming eclipses combined broadcast and cable viewing in US for first time

Streaming reached the historic milestone in May as its share of total television usage outpaced the combined share of broadcast and cable for the first time ever, according to Nielsen’s monthly report of The Gauge.

Streaming represented 44.8% of TV viewership in May 2025, its largest share of viewing to date, while broadcast (20.1%) and cable (24.1%) combined to represent 44.2% of TV.

The Gauge was first published in May 2021 by Nielsen. During that time the use of streaming services has increased by 71%, while broadcast and cable viewing have declined (down 21% and 39%, respectively). 

Along with the 71% increase in streaming usage, six additional streaming services are now reported in the list of platforms that exceed a full share point of TV usage. The original list included Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Prime Video and Disney+, and has expanded to 11 platforms in May 2025.

Among subscription services, Netflix was the leading SVOD provider in total TV usage for four straight years. Netflix represented 7.5% of viewing in May.

Free services have also been a major driver of streaming’s overall success in the US. YouTube represented 12.5% of all television viewing in May, the highest share of TV for any streamer to date.

Additionally, FAST services have become increasingly popular: PlutoTV, Roku Channel and Tubi combined for 5.7% of total TV viewing in May, which is larger than any individual broadcast network.

“It’s fitting that this inflection point coincides with the four year anniversary of Nielsen’s The Gauge, which has become the gold standard for streaming TV measurement,” said Karthik Rao, Nielsen CEO. “It’s also a credit to media companies, who have deftly adapted their programming strategies to meet their viewers where they are watching TV – whether it’s on streaming or linear platforms.”