
Streaming Dominates Watch Time in June
By Movieguide® Contributor
Recent Nielsen data for June has revealed that viewers are spending over 40% of their viewing time on streaming platforms.
Nielsen reported, “According to Nielsen’s June 2024 report of The Gauge™, time spent streaming soared to 40.3% of total TV usage, topping the previous single category record set by cable in June 2021 (40.1%) and notching the highest share of TV ever reported in The Gauge.”
Among the streaming platforms watched, Disney +, Tubi, Netflix and Max all experienced double-digit growth last month, with at least 20% of that growth attributed to younger viewers. The end of the school year likely contributes to the summer increase, with many students at home looking to occupy their free time.
“Streaming viewership increased 6% compared with May and the category added 1.5 share points to finish June at a record-setting 40.3% of TV,” Nielsen added.
According to The Gauge, cable television accounted for only 27.2% of viewing time, while broadcast earned 20.5%.
Despite some struggles, streaming continues to dominate, leaving the future for theaters and cable in question, as Movieguide® reported:
…the boom of the streaming market inadvertently killed both the box office and cable, which had been the primary income sources for Hollywood studios for decades.
This has left many studios, like Paramount, in dire straits as their future rests on streaming, which is currently losing these companies billions of dollars every year. Even though many of these major studios still hold the largest chunk of viewership when streaming and legacy media usage are combined, per a new metric from Nielsen, their audience is slipping, while companies built from the ground up on new media, such as Netflix and YouTube, only continue to grow.
According to The Yellow Jacket, “83% of homes use some sort of streaming service, and over 50% are subscribed to four or more services.”
“Streaming has seen such an increase over the last several years, and nothing is going to stop it, as almost every show on one of these services now, so why would anyone wait for it to be on TV when they can go and watch it at any time they want? With hundreds and hundreds of shows and movies on these services, Cable is becoming an afterthought for efficient TV,” the outlet added.
However, as Movieguide® previously reported, streamers are struggling to make a profit:
Streaming services are looking for ways to attract new subscribers and keep old ones, from bundles and mergers to making content that will appeal to a broader audience.
A recent report from The New York Times contained interviews with many of the streaming industry’s big names, and they were all in agreement about what’s next — “More ads, higher prices, and fewer big swings on prestige TV,” per Tech Crunch.
These changes all mark streaming services’ new strategy, which is based on profitability rather than subscriber growth.
Many services are pushing ad-supported plans for their subscribers, which could affect the type of original content they’re making. Advertisers want their ads to reach a mass audience of viewers, so crime procedurals, hospital shows and soap operas are the move for streamers.