Broadcast and cable networks saw an increase in U.S. viewership in January, largely driven by the NFL and college football postseasons, according to Nielsen’s latest TV usage rankings.
Cable accounted for 24.4% of total TV viewing, up from 23.8% in December 2024, while broadcast increased slightly to 22.5%. Streaming remained the dominant viewing category at 42.6%, though it saw a minor decline from the previous month. Other TV use, including gaming and physical media, made up 10.5% of total viewing.
The NFL playoffs drew the largest broadcast audiences in Nielsen’s reporting period (Dec. 30-Jan. 26). The AFC and NFC championship games on Jan. 26 attracted 57.4 million viewers on CBS and 44.2 million on Fox, respectively. Broadcast drama viewership grew 15% from December as popular shows returned with new episodes, while news programming saw an 18% rise, driven by coverage of the presidential inauguration.
Cable’s growth was also fueled by a 26% increase in news consumption. However, the top seven cable broadcasts of the month came from ESPN’s College Football Playoffs. Despite a slight drop from December, streaming still accounted for 42.6% of total TV usage the second-highest share in Nielsen’s history. Netflix led the streaming rankings, with Squid Game generating over 9 billion minutes of watch time, helping the platform secure an 8.6% share of total TV use.
Prime Video saw a significant boost from its exclusive NFL wild-card game on Jan. 11, which averaged 22.07 million viewers and contributed around 4 billion streaming minutes. That day marked the second-largest streaming volume recorded in the U.S. (47 billion minutes across platforms), trailing only Christmas 2024’s 51.2 billion minutes.
Starting this month, Nielsen has consolidated Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ into a single “Disney streaming” category, reflecting Hulu and ESPN+ content being accessible through Disney+ for certain subscribers.