Streaming holds 47.3% of U.S. TV watch-time; Netflix records 8.8% share: Report

Nielsen’s monthly The Gauge report recorded streaming viewership in the U.S. to continue its steady climb in July 2025, accounting for 47.3% of total TV usage. This brings streaming closer than ever tao the 50% threshold of overall television viewing.

Netflix continued its growth streak with a 5% monthly increase in viewing, hitting a platform record of 8.8% of TV share. The platform dominated July’s rankings with eight of the top 10 most-watched streaming titles. Its original series Squid Game led the list with 5.4 billion viewing minutes, followed by Peacock’s Love Island USA with 5.3 billion minutes. Peacock's overall usage was 3% compared to June and equalled its non-Olympic monthly record of 1.6% share of TV.

Other most-watched titles included Blindspot, Untamed, Animal Kingdom, Bluey, KPop Demon Hunters, Sullivan’s Crossing, Happy Gilmore and Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix.

Beyond Netflix and Peacock, YouTube and The Roku Channel also achieved record shares, with the former platform climbing to 13.4% and the latter to 2.8% of TV usage. The Roku Channel posted the largest monthly usage across all platforms, up 7.5% from June. The platform's gains were most significant among 18 to 24-year-old viewers, whose usage increased 8% month over month.

Broadcast and cable continued to trail streaming, at 18.4% and 22.2% of TV watch-time, respectively. Broadcast benefited from a 28% increase in news consumption, led by ABC World News Tonight dominating 19 of the month’s top 20 broadcast telecasts. Cable, meanwhile, saw declines in both news (-11%) and sports (-17%) viewership, with the absence of NBA playoffs weighing heavily. ESPN’s MLB Home Run Derby, however, topped cable telecasts with 5.3 million viewers.

The July 2025 reporting period covered June 30 through July 27, based on Nielsen’s broadcast calendar.

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