Streaming Makes TV History, Topping Combined Broadcast, Cable Usage Combined in May

Streaming claimed its inevitable victory in May, gathering a share of TV usage bigger than broadcast and cable combined for the first time.

Streaming share of TV usage was 44.8%, the highest since Nielsen began releasing monthly reports four years ago.. Broadcast’s share was 20.1% and cable had a 24.1% share–just 44.2% combined for the math-challenged among us.

May used to be a big month for broadcast, when the season finales of popular series were eagerly awaited. Now, few series attract the kind of attention as Dallas, Seinfeld or even This Is Us once commanded.

Streaming’s dominance continues to grow and explains why Warner Bros. Discovery has followed Comcast in looking to spin off their cable networks.

In April, streaming’s share was 44.3%. Broadcast’s share increased from 20.8%, while cable’s share shrunk from 24.5%.

Since May 2021, streaming usage has increased 71%, while broadcast has declined 21% and cable has plummeted by 39%.

To add insult to injury, NIelsen points out that if you combine the shares of free ad-supports streaming TV (FAST) services Pluto TV, Roku Channel and Tubi, they are bigger than any individual broadcast network in May.

Among the streamers, YouTube continued to have the largest share at 12.5%.

Netflix was No. 2 at 7.5%, followed by the Disney services (5%), Amazon Prime Video (3.5%), Roku Channel (2.4%), Paramount’s Paramount Plus and Pluto TV (2.2%), Fox’s Tubi (2.2%). Warner Bros Discovery’s streamers (1.5%) and NBC’s Peacock. It’s worth noting that four of the biggest streamers are owned by companies that also run a broadcast network.

Nielsen said that linear TV will probably bounce back after the summer when college and NFL football return.,

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Meanwhile in Cannes, where the ad industry is summering, Relo Metrics and VideoAmp announced the launch of Total Sports Performance, which aims to measure the impact of advertising and sponsorships in sports.

TSP uses real time brand detection from Relo’s computer vision AI and VideoAmp’s viewership and identity graph

“The disconnect between advertising, content, and sponsorship measurement has long limited the sports ecosystem’s ability to prove true ROI,” said Jay Prasad, CEO of Relo Metrics. “With Total Sports Performance, we’re changing that. This solution offers currency-grade measurement and insights and shows rights holders, media companies, and especially brands their real audience reach—whether during live play, the pre-game show, and commercial breaks across—so they can finally understand the full value of their investments across all screens.”

The launch was backed by TelevisaUnivision and media agency Dentsu.

“In today’s evolving media landscape, advertisers need more than siloed metrics—they need clarity across the full spectrum of exposure,” said Brian Lin, SVP of Product Management and

Advanced Advertising at TelevisaUnivision. “By bringing together sponsorship and ad data into one unified measurement framework, Total Sports Performance creates a more equitable and

performance-driven marketplace for all stakeholders. This is a critical step forward, especially in live sports, where attention and demand continue to grow.”