Nielsen: Kids Push TV Usage Up In June

As kids closed their books to end another school year, TV usage trends in June began to turn the corner after a four-month seasonal lull that began in February. For kids 2-17, streaming and video gaming provided a nice break from the classroom—and a 2.2% increase in total TV usage across all age groups, according to Nielsen.

Among kids 2-17, non-traditional TV options accounted for 90% of their increased usage. Kids 2-11 increased their TV time by 16.3%, while kids 12-17 spent 24.1% more time with TV compared with May.Among kids 2-11, streaming accounted for 62% of the increase, and “other” usage accounted for 30%, primarily attributed to video game console usage. Among kids 12-17, the increased time was fairly evenly split at 43% and 46% for streaming and other, respectively.

Compared with relatively flat cable usage and a 6.6% drop in broadcast usage, streaming usage jumped 5.8% to secure 37.7% of total TV, a new high-water mark. S.W.A.T. played a big role in that increase, attracting almost 5 billion minutes after becoming available on Netflix in mid-May alongside Hulu and Paramount+. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was another audience pleaser, generating almost 1 billion minutes of viewing after season 2 dropped in mid-June. The boost helped Paramount+ capture 1% of TV viewing and obtain stand-alone coverage in The GaugeTM. Other streaming highlights included:Tubi TV was the leading FAST service, as usage increased 12.1% to account for 1.4% of TV usage (up from 1% in February 2023 and tied with Max).

Disney+ benefited from increased kids viewing, as usage grew 11.9% to account for 2% of TV.
Max usage jumped 16.5% to gain 0.2 share points.

YouTube usage inched closer to 9% of TV usage, and Netflix gained 0.3 share points to capture 8.2% of TV.

TV Usage Trending

Within traditional TV programming, cable and broadcast usage reflected trends that are typical for summer. Broadcast viewing accounted for just 20.8% of total TV, reflecting a new low-water mark. Cable usage inched up 0.4% on the strength of feature films (up 10%) and news (up 6.6%), but lost 0.6 share points due to the increase in total TV usage. The NBA Conference finals were the top program on cable, but they weren’t enough to offset a 38% drop in sports viewing on cable. Comparatively, they helped drive a 31.7% increase in sports viewing on broadcast. On a year-over-year basis, broadcast usage was down 5.6% and cable viewing was down 11.6%.