Jan 20 (Reuters) – Streaming services captured nearly half of all television viewership in the U.S. in December, powered by Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL games and the highly anticipated final season of “Stranger Things,” audience measurement firm Nielsen reported on Tuesday.
With a record 47.5% of total TV usage in the U.S., including a staggering 55.1 billion viewing minutes on Christmas Day, streaming services cemented their dominance over broadcast and cable, Nielsen said in its monthly report, The Gauge.
Sign up here.
The data reflects the ongoing transformation of the television industry, as viewers increasingly gravitate toward on-demand content and live sports migrate to digital platforms.
On Christmas Day alone, streaming commanded 54% of all TV usage, the largest single-day share ever recorded by the category.
Netflix viewership was up 10% from November, as “Stranger Things” generated over 15 billion viewing minutes to become December’s most-watched streaming title.
Broadcast accounted for 21.4% of TV viewership in December, while cable had a 20.2% share, Nielsen said.
Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo