Is This The Beginning of The End Of Traditional TV Era?

July 2023 marked a significant shift in TV viewing habits as traditional broadcast and cable TV channels saw their combined viewership drop below 50% for the first time in the U.S. 

On the flip side, streaming platforms, led by giants like Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL YouTube, and Netflix Inc NFLX, experienced a surge, capturing a record 38.7% of total TV usage, according to data from Nielsen.

Also Read: Disney Explores Strategic Shift Away from Traditional TV to Focus on Streaming: CEO Bob Iger

While cable's viewership dipped below 30% for the first time, standing at 29.6%, broadcast usage experienced a 3.6% decline. Year-over-year, broadcast viewing dropped 5.4%, and cable viewing plummeted by 12.5%, Variety reports.

Streaming's Dominance

Streaming platforms witnessed impressive growth in July. Besides its TV service, YouTube saw a 5.6% increase from June, capturing 9.2% of total TV usage. 

Netflix's viewership rose by 4.2%, accounting for 8.5% of total TV usage. Amazon.Com, Inc AMZN Amazon Prime Video also experienced growth, with its viewership increasing by 5% to represent 3.4% of total TV usage.

Most-Streamed Titles

The most-streamed titles for the month were licensed shows. "Suits," the legal drama featuring Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht, and Meghan Markle, aired on Netflix and Peacock, and the Australian kids' animated show "Bluey" on Walt Disney Co DIS Disney+. 

These shows garnered 23 billion viewing minutes, with "Suits" raking in nearly 18 billion minutes alone.

Broadcast TV Highlights

Despite declining traditional TV viewership, dramas remained the top broadcast in July, capturing 25.7% of the category. "ABC World News Tonight" and the MLB All-Star Game on Fox led the broadcast programs.

On the cable front, ESPN's Home Run Derby and College World Series took the top spots, followed by "When Calls the Heart" on the Hallmark Channel.

The year saw Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc WBD launch its streaming service Max to take on the likes of Netflix to boost subscribers.

Charter Communications, Inc CHTR introduced new cable TV packages to tap users.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.