A New Way to Gauge the Screen Wars

Three big questions re: how we watch TV:
1) Which media companies account for the highest share of total TV?
2) Does streaming have a higher reach than linear TV?
3) Which age groups are most likely to list streaming as their default source for watching TV?

New data alert: A new version of Nielsen’s Gauge report ranks TV time by media company (distributor).

Video: Nielsen’s Latest Media Gauge

Big question #1: Which media companies account for the highest share of total TV?

Share of total TV time by media company according to Nielsen:
1) The Walt Disney Company – 12%
2) YouTube – 10%
3) NBCUniversal – 9%
4) Paramount – 9%
5) WarnerBros Discovery – 8%
6) Netflix – 8%
7) Fox – 6%
8) Amazon – 3%
9) EW Scripps – 2%
10) Weigel Broadcasting – 2%

Wow: YouTube has passed Paramount and NBCUniversal to become #2 in the past 6 months.

Share of total TV time according to Nielsen:
1) Streaming – 38%
2) Cable – 29%
3) Broadcast – 22%
4) Other – 10%

Why this matters: We spend 12% of our life watching TV.  My new book even devotes an entire chapter to this subject.

Big question #2: Does streaming have a higher reach than linear TV?

Share of U.S. population reached according to eMarketer:
1) Streaming TV – 74%
2) Linear TV – 68%

Remember: I outlined this roughly one year ago (SOTS #318) and may have been too conservative on #1!

Zoom out: We are in the midst of a shift in consumption/advertising from linear TV to streaming.  This shift will take over a decade to play out and will occur in the following four steps.

The streaming decade in four steps:
1) 2025 – Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in total reach
2) 2026 – Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in time spent
3) 2028 – Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in ad spend
4) 2030 – Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in ad impressions

Flashback: The streaming decade in four steps

Big question #3: Which age groups are most likely to list streaming as their default source for watching TV?

Share who lists streaming as the default source for watching TV according to AdTaxi:
1) 18-29 – 84%
2) 30-44 – 79%
3) 45-60 – 71%
4) 61+ – 51%

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