College Football and NFL Preseason Drive Increases for ABC Affiliates (+4%), ESPN (+25%) and FOX Broadcast Affiliates (+14%)
YouTube and Netflix Maintain Position in Top Three of Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge, Withstanding Initial Back-to-School Impacts to Streaming
NEW YORK – September 23, 2025 – Football was the common catalyst for Disney and FOX in August, as coverage of a new college football season along with NFL preseason drove the only share increases for companies in this month’s Media Distributor Gauge. Disney climbed to 9.7% of TV watch-time in August (+0.3 share points vs. July), as football coverage helped drive a 4% bump for ABC affiliates and a 25% surge for ESPN. The viewing impact from FOX affiliates contributed to a 14% monthly uptick, leading FOX to represent 6.7% of TV (+0.2 points).
While the effects of a new football season will not be fully evident until September, its late-month impact was a clear indicator of what’s to come. When comparing the first and last weeks of the August interval (07/28/25-08/03/25 vs. 08/25/25-08/31/25), viewing to FOX affiliates was up 36%, ABC affiliates gained 29%, and ESPN surged 196%, which was due at least in part to a memorable season premiere of College GameDay. What’s more, Disney’s share of TV started at 8.9% in the first week of the month, and concluded with 11.5% of TV in the final week.
This football-driven surge countered the back-to-school drop in viewing among school-aged audiences, with streaming viewership being the most impacted by this group, as detailed in the August report of The Gauge. Top-ranked YouTube gave up 0.3 share points and finished the month with a 13.1% share of TV. Meanwhile, Netflix held steady in third with 8.7% of television (-0.1 point) on the strength of owning the top four streaming titles of the month.
Beyond the top three, shares for NBCUniversal and Paramount remained even with July, finishing with 7.6% and 7.1%*, respectively. Like Disney and FOX, both NBCU and Paramount were buoyed by gains across their broadcast affiliates as the two also benefited from the return of football.
The August 2025 interval spanned five weeks, from 07/28/2025 through 08/31/2025. Nielsen reporting follows the broadcast calendar, with weekly intervals beginning on Monday.
*Note: Paramount’s streaming total in July was originally reported as 1.9% and has since been updated to 2.0%. As such, Paramount’s media distributor total was also updated from 7.0% to 7.1% in July.
About The Gauge™
The Gauge™ is Nielsen’s monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs through a television screen, providing the industry with a holistic look at what audiences are watching. The Gauge was expanded in April 2024 to include The Media Distributor Gauge, which reflects total viewing by media distributor across these categories. Read more about The Gauge methodology and FAQs.
About Nielsen
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