Streaming services accounted for nearly half of all television viewing in the United States in December, driven by strong holiday programming, live sports, and the final season of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things, according to data released by Nielsen.
Streaming captured a record 47.5% of total U.S. TV usage during the month, including 55.1 billion viewing minutes on Christmas Day alone. Nielsen said the figures underline the growing dominance of streaming platforms over traditional broadcast and cable television, as detailed in its monthly report, The Gauge.
A major contributor was Netflix, which aired two NFL games on Christmas Day and released new episodes of Stranger Things. Netflix’s total viewership rose 10% from November, with Stranger Things generating more than 15 billion viewing minutes to become December’s most-watched streaming title.
YouTube, owned by Google, was the single largest streaming service by audience share, accounting for 12.7% of all U.S. television viewing during the month.
On Christmas Day alone, streaming platforms commanded 54% of total TV usage, the highest single-day share ever recorded by the category. Alongside Netflix’s NFL games, Amazon Prime Video’s late NFL matchup further boosted streaming demand.
Traditional television continued to lose ground, with broadcast accounting for 21.4% of total viewership in December and cable capturing 20.2%, Nielsen said. The shift reflects broader changes in viewing habits, as audiences increasingly favor on-demand entertainment and major sports leagues expand their digital presence.
The evolving landscape is also accelerating consolidation in the media sector. Netflix has recently bid $82.7 billion to acquire studio and streaming assets from Warner Bros Discovery, highlighting the strategic value of scale and exclusive content in the streaming era.
