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Streaming Accounted For 36.4% Of TV Usage In May 2023

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Streaming accounted for 36.4% of total TV usage in the US in May 2023. While this is an increase in market share when compared to April, TV usage in general was down when compared to both the month and year before.

The current quarter is one which often tends to see lower levels of TV usage, and that’s a trend that appears to have been in effect this year as well. According to the latest data from Nielsen, total TV usage in the U.S. in May declined 4.4% when compared to April, and 2.7% when compared to the same period in 2022.

In spite of the overall decline in TV usage, Streaming accounted for 36.4% of time spent watching TV in the US in May, up 2.4% compared to April. In contrast, Cable decreased from 31.5% to 31.1%, and Broadcast decreased from 23.1% to 22.8% during the same period.

When looking at individual services, there weren’t any major changes at the top end. YouTube continued to lead the way with 8.5% (up 0.4%), Netflix in second with 7.9% (up 1%), Hulu in third with 3.7% (up 0.4%), and Prime Video in fourth with 3.1% (up 0.3%).

At the other end of the spectrum, however, there was a notable change. After securing a 1.1% market share, May marked the first time that the Roku Channel appeared on Nielsen’s list.

Tubi’s market share also grew to 1.3% (up 0.2%) in May, placing it above HBO Max (1.2%) and Peacock (1.1%), and 0.5% behind Disney Plus. Pluto TV’s share increased to 0.9% (up 0.1%).

The debut appearance of the Roku Channel on the list brings the total number of free, ad-supported television (FAST) services to three, and together all three accounted for 3.3% of total TV usage in the US in May.

John Finn

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