
Streaming Dominated December as Cable Viewership Plummeted
By Movieguide® Contributor
December saw more streaming than ever, thanks to Netflix, Max, Prime Video and YouTube.
Nielsen discovered that 43.3% of all TV watched in December was streamed — a record high. Christmas Day saw two of the most-watched telecasts of the month, and viewers spent 4% more time watching TV in December than they did the prior month, per The Streamable.
Netflix’s two Christmas Day NFL game telecasts had over 23 million watchers. Netflix had 8.5% of total viewing in December, thanks to the telecasts, its movie, CARRY-ON, and other content.
Netflix also set a record for new subscribers. It now has over 300 million. It just announced another plan to raise prices, apparently enthused by all of its success.
“Netflix offers an extremely compelling price to entertainment value (that is continually improving) boosted by their ad-supported offering that should allow the company to continue to generate solid subscriber growth and average revenue per user growth,” said Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeff Wlodarczak.
Prime Video also had a great month. It accounted for 4% of all TV watched. Its series, BEAST GAMES, gathered 700 million viewing minutes in the first three episodes. It’s THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL games and movie RED ONE were also hits.
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Max’s viewership jumped 18%. Viewers flocked to the platform to watch DUNE: PROPHECY, FRIENDS and THE BIG BANG THEORY.
YouTube went up by 7%. It accounted for 11.1% of all TV viewing. This included nine days with over 100 billion viewing minutes. YouTube’s highest day for viewing minutes in 2023 was only 13 billion.
Unlike other streamers, YouTube’s draw didn’t come from specific content. Its growth seems to stem from its extensive content diversity. One significant section of growth is podcasts. YouTube is the leading medium for podcasts, surpassing Spotify.
For the first time last year, cable TV dropped below 25% of all watched TV. Nielsen’s data suggests Prime’s and Netflix’s success is largely thanks to its football games. As football and other sports and content shift to streamers, cable will struggle to keep up.
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