The news: Broadcast TV’s share of viewing declined YoY in October despite inching up slightly from the prior month thanks to the NFL season, per Nielsen’s total TV/streaming estimates. Meanwhile, streaming continued to increase its viewership share—highlighting how live sports viewers are increasingly shifting to digital.
- YoY broadcast viewership share fell 1.1 points to 22.9%.
- But even as overall sports programming on broadcast networks fell 6.4% MoM, the NFL alone lifted broadcast’s total share of viewing by 0.6 percentage points between September and October—offsetting declines in other sports categories.
- Cable networks’ share of viewership fell over 4% YoY, declining to a 22.2% share.
- Streaming increased its share from 40.5% to 45.7% YoY, up slightly from 45.2% in September. Gains were led by YouTube (which rose to a 12.9% share vs. 10.6% in October 2024), while Netflix saw slight growth (8% share compared with 7.5% in October 2024).
Sports goes digital: Audiences and advertisers are rapidly shifting to digital sports as how sports content is consumed fundamentally changes.