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Streaming hits all-time weekly high in December, according to The Gauge

5 minute read | January 2022

From a total viewing perspective, streaming was the clear outlier during the week of Christmas, as Americans watched a total of 183 billion minutes – an all-time high –  across the growing range of over-the-top platforms. The aggregate viewing was enough to easily dethrone the 160 billion minutes watched during March 2020 (when stay-at-home restrictions began in the U.S.), as well as the 178 billion minutes watched during the week of Thanksgiving just a month earlier. The spike in streaming viewing also gave streamers 33% viewing share of total TV viewing during the week of Christmas, which was the most as measured by Nielsen.

From a reporting standpoint, this month’s edition of The Gauge expands the granularity of the data we provide. Instead of rounding, we have expanded viewing share calculations to display an additional decimal of data. This additional data will make it easier to see month-to-month changes in viewing share. In December, broadcast viewing dropped one share point and the “other” category, which includes video on-demand content, cable set top box streaming, gaming, and DVD usage, gained 1.6% share on the strength of video gaming, during what could be considered the “premiere season” in that category.  Overall streaming was fairly flat for the month, remaining consistent with 28% share.

Total TV viewing in the US in November

Watch the video to hear Brian Fuhrer, SVP, Product Strategy at Nielsen provide a behind the scenes look at some of the viewing changes underpinning The Gauge.

 

METHODOLOGY AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Gauge provides a monthly macroanalysis of how consumers are accessing content across key television delivery platforms, including Broadcast, Streaming, Cable and Other sources. It also includes a breakdown of the major, individual streaming distributors. The chart itself shows the share by category and of total television usage by individual streaming distributors.

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