TV viewing via streaming surpasses broadcast and cable combined for the first time – Nielsen

Nielsen’s “Gauge” report for May showed that TV viewership through streaming overtook broadcast and cable combined, a new milestone in the U.S. media sector.

“Streaming reached a historic milestone in May as its share of total television usage outpaced the combined share of broadcast and cable for the first time ever,” Nielsen said on Tuesday.

The report, which is a monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable, and streaming consumption via TV, showed that time spent streaming accounted for 44.8% of total TV viewing in May. Cable made up 24.1% of total TV viewing, and broadcast’s share was 20.1%.

Nielsen said TV viewing via streaming has risen 71% over the last four years, while broadcast has declined 21% and cable fell 39% during the same period.

In May, YouTube (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) continued to lead the pack with a 12.5% share of overall TV viewing, followed by Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) with 7.5% and Disney (NYSE:DIS) with a 5% share.

Nielsen also highlighted the rising popularity of FAST services. The report said PlutoTV (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA), Roku Channel (NASDAQ:ROKU), and Tubi (NASDAQ:FOX) (NASDAQ:FOXA) combined made up 5.7% of total TV viewing in May, which is “larger than any individual broadcast network this interval.”

Pay TV distributors: Comcast (CMCSA), Charter (NASDAQ:CHTR), Dish Network (NASDAQ:SATS), Verizon FiOS (NYSE:VZ), Optimum/Suddenlink (NYSE:ATUS), Atlantic Broadband (OTCPK:CGEAF), Sparklight (NYSE:CABO).

Relevant local broadcast tickers: Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST), Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ:SBGI), Gray Television (NYSE:GTN), Tegna (NYSE:TGNA), E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP).

National broadcasters: ABC (NYSE:DIS), NBC (NASDAQ:CMCSA), CBS (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA), Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) (NASDAQ:FOXA).

Ad-tech names tied to connected TV: The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD), Magnite (NASDAQ:MGNI), PubMatic (NASDAQ:PUBM), Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO), Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU).