The Gauge: Nielsen’s monthly total tv and streaming snapshot for January

The Gauge, the monthly total TV and streaming snapshot from Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN), revealed that streaming in the U.S. reached a new all-time high in January in total minutes during a week, the highest average weekly figure of any month, and share of total television usage. In the first month of 2022, streaming averaged over 180 billion minutes per week, delivering a record 28.9% of total television usage.

According to The Gauge, the first week of January totaled 197.6 billion minutes of streaming, handily shattering the previous record of 183 billion minutes which was previously set just weeks before, during 2021’s Christmas week. The 12% increase in volume compared to December was the highest of any category, and produced a 1.1% increase in streaming share of total TV usage.

Observing streaming platforms, viewing was driven primarily by high-profile titles such as Encanto on Disney+, and the new seasons of Ozark, Cobra Kai, and The Witcher on Netflix. Total usage on Disney+ was up 25%, in addition to a 22% viewing increase for Amazon Prime, resulting in a 0.3% total share increase for both services, respectively.

Overall television usage was up 8% as each category increased its viewership from U.S. audiences. Notably, broadcast consumption was up 9%, driven by a compelling slate of NFL playoff games and increased engagement with both broadcast dramas and comedies, which were up 22% and 17%, respectively, compared to December 2021. The cable category, despite being up 3% in usage, lost 1.7 share points to finish at 35.6% of television viewing, primarily due to the seasonal shift away from holiday movies.

Measuring and monitoring consumers’ streaming behavior in a comparable way against linear TV usage is a critical source of information for the industry as content creators, media companies, streaming platforms, advertisers, industry groups, talent agencies and the talent themselves all seek clarity around the various video content that consumers engage with. PR Newswire