The return of the NFL was just the injection broadcast TV needed in September as it finally saw an uptick.
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For the second month in a row, broadcast TV was able to win back a bit of its market share. In August, it was due to the Olympics; in September, it was thanks to the return of the NFL season. Over-the-air TV moved from 22% of television viewing to 22.6%, showing once again that live sports is where the legacy model truly shines.
The NFL halo effect, however, also extended to streaming. Prime Video’s market share increased from 3.1% to 3.6%, thanks in no small part to Thursday Night Football. Overall, streaming held steady at 41%, with Cable being the one to lose some share with a drop from 26.3% to 26.1%. “Other” also dropped from 10.7% to 10.3%.
Peacock had seen a massive bump in August thanks to the Olympics surging to 2.1%, but it fell back this month to 1.4%. Max was down .1%, while Paramount Plus inched up by .1%.
The FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) saw some dropoff for the first time in a while with both Tubi and Roku Channel each losing .1% of the market.
Nielsen The Gauge September 2024
Despite all of the shifts this month, there is still a clear picture that something needs to be done about Paramount Plus, Max, and Peacock. Some form of merger seems inevitable with these numbers. Why Paramount Plus hasn’t found a way to incorporate Pluto TV – which it owns – in a meaningful way is the true mystery of the moment. The two combined add up to 1.9% and would finally propel them up the list by a decent amount. There have been rumors of Max and Peacock being in talks, which would combine for 2.6%, putting them ahead of Disney Plus and Hulu.
It’s clear TV consumption habits are changing at a rapid pace, and some companies are going to need to learn some hard lessons and soon.
IMAGE SOURCE: Shutterstock – Streaming – Poxima Studio
