Streaming Takes Over the TV Screen

Over the past few years, streaming services have taken over a growing chunk of TV consumption in the United States. According to Nielsen’s The Gauge, a monthly report that measures what Americans watch on their actual TV screens, streaming’s rise has mostly come at the expense of broadcast and cable TV, which saw their share of TV screentime decline significantly.

Back in December 2021, broadcast and cable accounted for 26 and 37 percent of TV viewing, respectively, while streaming accounted for 28 percent. By December 2025, the balance of power had shifted, and streaming reached its highest-ever share of television time at 48 percent, while broadcast and cable had dropped to 21 and 20 percent, respectively. The figures suggest that cable TV in particular is being replaced by streaming services, as many households that operate on a tight budget cut the cord and opt for more affordable and flexible streaming services instead.

According to Nielsen, streaming usage reached a new daily record on Christmas Day 2025, when Americans watched a total of 55.1 billion streaming minutes, eclipsing the previous record by 8 percent. The record was made possible by a perfect storm of streaming content, with two Christmas Day NFL games on Netflix, the release of the second batch of episodes of the final season of Stranger Things and a Christmas night NFL game on Amazon Prime Video.

Breaking it further down, YouTube leads the streaming pack, accounting for 12.7 percent of TV viewing, ahead of Netflix (9.0 percent), Disney+ (4.7 percent) and Prime Video (4.3 percent.