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State of the Screens

A New Way to Gauge the Screen Wars

By May 16, 2024No Comments

Three big questions re: how we watch TV:
1) Which media companies account for the highest share of total TV?
2) Does streaming have a higher reach than linear TV?
3) Which age groups are most likely to list streaming as their default source for watching TV?

🚨New data alert: A new version of Nielsen’s Gauge report ranks TV time by media company (distributor).

Video: Nielsen’s Latest Media Gauge

Big question #1: Which media companies account for the highest share of total TV?

Share of total TV time by media company according to Nielsen:
1) The Walt Disney Company – 12%
2) YouTube – 10%
3) NBCUniversal – 9%
4) Paramount – 9%
5) WarnerBros Discovery – 8%
6) Netflix – 8%
7) Fox – 6%
8) Amazon – 3%
9) EW Scripps – 2%
10) Weigel Broadcasting – 2%

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Wow: YouTube has passed Paramount and NBCUniversal to become #2 in the past 6 months.

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Share of total TV time according to Nielsen:

1) Streaming – 38%
2) Cable – 29%
3) Broadcast – 22%
4) Other – 10%

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Why this matters: We spend 12% of our life watching TV.  My new book even devotes an entire chapter to this subject.🙂

Big question #2: Does streaming have a higher reach than linear TV?

Share of U.S. population reached according to eMarketer:
1) Streaming TV – 74%
2) Linear TV – 68%

Remember: I outlined this roughly one year ago (SOTS #318) and may have been too conservative on #1!

Zoom out: We are in the midst of a shift in consumption/advertising from linear TV to streaming.  This shift will take over a decade to play out and will occur in the following four steps.

The streaming decade in four steps:
1) 2025 – Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in total reach
2) 2026 – Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in time spent
3) 2028 – Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in ad spend
4) 2030 – Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in ad impressions

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Flashback: The streaming decade in four steps

Big question #3: Which age groups are most likely to list streaming as their default source for watching TV?

Share who lists streaming as the default source for watching TV according to AdTaxi:
1) 18-29 – 84%
2) 30-44 – 79%
3) 45-60 – 71%
4) 61+ – 51%

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.