Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount+ and CBS Affiliates Each Surge More Than 18% in November
Netflix Jumps 10%, Boosted by Nearly 19 Billion Viewing Minutes of ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘The Beast In Me’ and ‘Frankenstein’
Hallmark Leverages Holiday Programming Slate to Notch 28% Viewing Bump
NEW YORK – December 22, 2025 – Nielsen’s November 2025 Media Distributor Gauge revealed a complex television landscape defined by live sports, strategic streaming releases and the Thanksgiving holiday. Paramount and Netflix each clocked double-digit growth over October, capitalizing on strong content slates and disrupting the Media Distributor rankings this month.
Paramount recorded a 14% increase in overall viewing in November and finished the month with its largest share of TV since April, capturing 8.9% of total watch-time and climbing to No. 3 in the Media Distributor Gauge rankings. Paramount’s 0.7-point gain was the largest among all distributors, and was fueled equally by its broadcast and streaming properties. CBS affiliates and Paramount+ each climbed over 18%, contributing 0.5 and 0.2 share points, respectively, to Paramount’s total.
Netflix also delivered a robust performance in November, notching this month’s second-highest viewing gain (up 10%) to add 0.3 share points and achieve 8.3% of TV. While the return of Netflix’s iconic series Stranger Things provided the largest viewing impact with nearly 12 billion viewing minutes on its own, the streamer also benefited from its depth of content. Netflix’s new original series The Beast in Me, and new Frankenstein film reimagined by Guillermo del Toro, combined for nearly 7 billion viewing minutes across the month.
Hallmark produced a 28% viewing gain in November and set the mark for the highest percentage viewing increase this month. Hallmark benefited from its signature slate of holiday movies and its original series, Mistletoe Murders, all of which led to 0.2 additional share points for 1.2% of total TV watch-time.
Despite the shifts below them, YouTube and Disney retained the top two rankings with 12.9% and 10.5% of TV, respectively. YouTube’s share of TV remained unchanged month-over-month. Disney dropped 0.9 share points, largely due to ABC affiliates and ESPN declines attributable to the carriage interruption from the YouTube TV dispute.
NBCUniversal (NBCU) posted a strong month with a 7% increase in overall viewing, capturing its largest total since October 2024 with 8.8% of TV viewing (+0.2 pts.). NBCU’s gains were driven by a 22% surge in streaming on Peacock, largely fueled by NFL Sunday Night Football coverage, Thanksgiving Day programming, and its new original drama series All Her Fault. Peacock achieved a non-Olympic monthly record 1.9% share of television in November, as reported in Nielsen’s The Gauge.
FOX navigated a month of disproportionate swings across its broadcast and cable properties in November. FOX broadcast affiliates were up 22% versus October, led by the Thanksgiving Day NFL matchup between Green Bay and Detroit, and World Series Games 4 through 7, where the final game ranked as the sixth most-viewed telecast of the month. On the cable side, Fox News Channel viewership was down 9% compared to last month, and FS1 was impacted by the absence of the MLB Postseason. Overall, FOX finished the month with a net gain of 2.4%, but due to the larger increase of overall TV usage (+5.5%), ceded 0.3 share points to finish with 8.1% of TV in November.
The November 2025 interval spanned five weeks, from 10/27/2025 through 11/30/2025. Nielsen reporting follows the broadcast calendar, with weekly intervals beginning on Monday.
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
Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their global audiences—now and into the future. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram).
Press Contact
Lauren Pabst
