Streaming TV grabbed a huge share of the market during the holidays, taking back some ground from broadcast TV.
Broadcast TV lost almost two full percentage points in December, dropping from 23.2% to 21.4% in December. With the number of sporting events over the month, this actually comes as a surprise.
Cable TV took another hit, dropping from 20.5% in November to 20.2%. It had already dropped from 22.2% in October.
YouTube on TVs retreated from 12.9% to 12.7%. In January, it was 10.8%, so it was still a good year for the video service.
Meanwhile, Netflix surged to 9% in no small part due to the success of Stranger Things 5.
Disney’s numbers now encompass all of Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN held firm for another month at 4.7%.
Overall, streaming grew to 47.5% in the month, up from 46.7%.
Nielsen – The Gauge – December 2025
HBO Max is no longer being broken out on its own and is now lumped in with Discovery Plus under the Warner Bros. Discovery banner. It rose slightly from 1.4% to 1.5%.
Paramount Plus and Pluto are reported together and sit at 2.5%, up from 2.3%. With Paramount in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, should they merge, they would only be at 3.6% of the market, still behind Disney, despite two major studios coming together.
In the realm of FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television), Tubi held on to 2.1%, and Roku Channel held firm at 2.9%.
It’s clear the television market is due for some upheaval. With the ever-increasing cost of sports broadcast rights, there will come a breaking point for all of these companies. Should someone ever manage to take the NFL off broadcast, it feels like the networks would be doomed, and that is a difficult world to imagine.
IMAGE SOURCE: Shutterstock – Streaming – Poxima Studio
