YouTube Captures More Than Twice Netflix's Share of U.S. TV Viewing
Nielsen’s August report puts YouTube at 15.8% of television viewing, compared with Netflix’s 7.7%. The living room is not just for traditional television anymore.
The actual story.
YouTube accounted for 15.8% of total U.S. television viewing in August, compared with Netflix's 7.7%, according to Nielsen's report released October 22. YouTube viewing increased 6% from July even as overall television viewing declined. Viewing among adults 50 and older rose 9%.
The figures measure time spent watching television, not subscriber totals or viewing across every device. They show why YouTube belongs in a television distribution strategy as well as a social-media plan, and why assumptions about an exclusively young, mobile audience can be misleading.
For creators and marketers, the practical next step is to check their own device and audience analytics. Where television viewing is significant, graphics need to be readable from across a room and audio needs to stand on its own. National viewing shares provide context, but do not by themselves establish which channel will deliver the best advertising return.
Build for the way your audience actually watches, rather than the device you associate with the platform.
Receipts, not rumors.
Read the original reporting: Nielsen
The reporting above provides context. Illustrations are editorial interpretations, not source photographs.
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