In the U.S., the annual Upfront (and Newfront) events put TV media in the center spotlight. This year, we’re diving into the Nielsen data to help the industry understand the trends that are shaping the way we watch.
1. Linear TV still represents the majority of the ad-supported opportunity.
Looking at our most recent classic Gauge reportโwhich represents total use of the television setโyou can see that linear TV and streaming are rather close to one another in terms of share. Broadcast and cable combined represent 44.5% of time spent, and streaming represents 43.8%.ย
However, when we peel back the onion a bit more and look strictly at ad-supported viewing, we can see that gap gets significantly wider. In our recently released Ad Supported Gauge, broadcast and cable combined account for 57.6% of time spent, while streaming is at 42.4%. So, while streaming certainly continues to gain ground, when it comes to the opportunity to see ads, linear still has a significant lead.
2. TV’s multiplatform opportunity has come into focus.
Lo streaming ha cambiato definitivamente il panorama televisivo negli ultimi 10 anni ed รจ facile pensare che si tratti di una competizione tra il mondo dello streaming e quello della TV via cavo e broadcast. Tuttavia, se si analizzano i dati di ascolto recenti, si scopre che si tratta piuttosto di una conversazione "sรฌ, e" (per prendere in prestito un'espressione dal mondo della commedia improvvisata).
Certainly there are moments when each platform shines: Thanksgiving football and the Super Bowl on broadcast; New Yearโs college football on cable; Stranger Things e Suits on Netflix. However, weโve also seen how the different platforms can work together to really meet different viewers where they are. The 2024 Summer Games are one clear cut example: NBCUโs Peacock delivered live streams and highlights by sport throughout the competition, but NBCโs primetime coverage still saw substantial increases compared to the prior Summer Olympics. This yearโs Super Bowl is another: Tubi was able to draw a different but complementary audience relative to FOXโs broadcast.
There are more subtle examples as well. The first season of CBSโs Fire Country launched on Netflix just before the third season premiered on broadcast, and likely reached viewers who hadnโt seen the show previously. Then, when the third season opener landed on Paramount+, it saw a 55% bump in viewership compared to the second season premiere.
E anche se consideriamo gli asset televisivi di una singola societร ed esaminiamo gli ascolti in base ai dati demografici dell'etร , possiamo vedere dove ci sono opportunitร di raggiungere pubblici diversi all'interno di un unico portafoglio. Disney รจ un esempio di questa dinamica; NBCUniversal e Paramount sono altri due esempi.
3. Lo streaming รจ diventato sempre piรน competitivo: ci sono piรน successi su piรน piattaforme.
Netflix remains a powerhouse in the streaming world, but as other platforms mature and content strategies evolve, weโre seeing a wider range of titles land in our top 10 rankings. Five years ago, Netflix carried eight of the 10 top streaming assets, but this past March, we saw a total of seven different companies score entries on the chart. This creates more opportunities for brands to be part of the cultural conversation.
Itโs also important to see this in context as originals that attract a big audience tend to peak quickly whereas multi-season titles with deep libraries (e.g. NCIS, Grey's Anatomy) are critical to hold audiences over time.
4. Lo sport rappresenta una quota crescente della visione televisiva lineare, ma sta anche facendo grandi numeri per lo streaming.
In the four year daily viewing trend above, you can see the big spikes in viewing on broadcast and cable around major eventi sportivi. But it isnโt just the big moments that are attracting viewers; in fact, sports content has increased its share of viewing on linear TV in each of the last four years. Entertainment content retains the lionโs share, but in 2024, sports approached 20% of total viewing time among adults 25-54. Given how powerful live sports are for both fan engagement and as a promotional platform, it will continue to be a major asset for networks.
All that being said, streamers are certainly part of the sports conversation now, and are seeing it pay dividends. Thursday Night Football on Prime Video averaged over 14 million viewers this past season, and the Christmas Day NFL games on Netflix hit new streaming highs and helped drive total streaming viewership to over 50 billion minutes for the first time on a single day.
5. I contenuti multilingue e le librerie profonde rendono lo streaming un luogo ideale per raggiungere un pubblico eterogeneo.
As weโve noted in our Black e AANHPI Diverse Intelligence Series reports this year, multicultural consumers are essential for brands to connect with. Linear TV certainly still offers options to reach themโfor example, broadcast is particularly important for Hispanic homesโbut the depth and breadth of streaming options available today allows audiences to really dig in.
Poichรฉ Netflix e YouTube veicolano molti contenuti internazionali, non sorprende che rappresentino una quota significativa di tempo tra i pubblici eterogenei, in particolare tra gli spettatori ispanici e asiatici. Le due piattaforme rappresentano circa un terzo del tempo televisivo totale per entrambi i gruppi.
In generale, lo streaming rispecchia piรน da vicino la composizione dell'universo televisivo totale rispetto al lineare. Ma l'analisi delle singole piattaforme rivela ulteriori livelli di opportunitร . Abbiamo giร parlato di Netflix e YouTube, ma altri esempi sono The Roku Channel e Tubi, che hanno una forte sovra-indicizzazione tra il pubblico nero.
