Streaming grabbed an all time high 31.9% share of total television viewing in May, topping the records of 30.4% in April and 29.7% in March, according to Nielsen.
The increase in May was the largest month-by-month increase in share since Nielsen started keeping records. The gain came despite an overall 2.7% decline in viewing during the month. Streaming was the only type of viewing to show an increase in May.
Time spent streaming was up 2% in May from April, boosted by the release of new programs including Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus and a new season of Stranger Things on Netflix. Disney Plus had a 2.5% share of total viewing on May 27. Netflix had 9% on May 28, thanks to the new shows.
Broadcast viewing and cable viewing each fell 3.5% month over month. Broadcast’s share fell to 24.4% from 24.7%. Cable had a 36.5% share, down from 36.8%. Cable was hurt by a 4.2% drop in cable news viewing. Cable sports viewing was up 7% thanks to the NBA playoff games The top six most viewed cable programs in May were NBA games.
Among the streaming services, Netflix’s share rose to 6.8% in May from 6.6% in April. YouTube jumped to 6.7% from 6.1%, Hulu rose to 3.4% from 3.3%, Amazon Prime Video grew to 2.6% from 2.5%, while Disney Plus and HBO Max were flat. ■
