Americans are still spending the majority of their screen time watching traditional network and cable television, according to new data from research firm Nielsen.
Nielsen, known for measuring television usage in the U.S., said that 64% of time spent on televisions was on network and cable TV, while 26% of time was spent on streaming services such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Disney+ (NYSE:DIS) and Hulu.
Another 8%, categorized as "other," includes video-on-demand, streaming from cable set-top boxes, and other TV uses, such as gaming and watching movies on DVDs.
Still, streaming’s share of people’s viewing time is growing. About 20% of time was spent on streaming last year. That could reach 33% by the end of this year, Nielsen said.
Streaming companies have continued to gain dominance as consumers shift away from traditional pay TV, with many looking for entertainment alternatives during the pandemic.
Nearly seven million American households likely dropped their traditional TV service in 2020, a record high. Meantime, the average American pays for four video streaming services each month, according to a Deloitte survey conducted in April of this year.
Netflix and Google-owned (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube have managed to break out as the winners of the streaming wars so far, according to Nielsen, with both holding 6% of total streaming time. Disney’s Hulu followed with 3% of the time, while Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video captured 2% and Disney+ posted 1%.
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