44.8
Per cent of American television viewing that went to streaming in May 2025 — more than cable and broadcast could manage together
Nielsen published the reading on June 17, 2025, from a window running April 28 to May 25. It was the first crossover since The Gauge began in May 2021, and Nielsen said in the same statement that it would probably not hold once football returned.
Broadcast held 20.1% of American television time in May 2025.
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Watching — the piece to read first
May 2025: The Month Streaming Passed Everything Else
Nielsen’s Gauge parcels total television usage five ways, and the parcel that grew is the one delivered over an internet connection. What the report counts, what it leaves out, and why a single month’s reading is treated as indicative rather than settled.
A viewer who watches an entire series on a phone contributes nothing to The Gauge. A viewer who casts YouTube to a smart TV contributes fully.
Nielsen splits total set usage five ways and counts only what happens on a television screen — a series watched entirely on a phone contributes nothing to the figure at all.
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