TV viewership finished 2023 strongly, with a 2% increase in viewership in December compared with November, according to Nielsen.

Five days during the month had more than 100 billion viewing minutes, including the last day of the year, during which there were 105 billion minutes. This trailed only Super Bowl Sunday on February 12 as the top viewing day of the year.

The Gauge — Nielsen’s monthly assessment of television viewership — covers broadcast, cable and streaming. It found that the growth in overall viewership enabled categories to gain viewers, but to lose market share. The “other” category, which includes gaming, was the only one to gain share (1.8 points). The broadcast category experienced a monthly decline in viewership, while the cable and streaming sectors showed gains.

TV Viewership

Broadcast viewing decreased 4.3% from November after having increased during the four previous months. It stands at 23.5% of viewership. The 25- to 34-year-old demographic watched 13% less broadcast television compared to the previous month. Sports was the most watched type of broadcast.

Cable viewing rose 1.3% in December due to the overall increase in TV viewing. However, cable lost 0.1 share points and comprised 28.2% of viewership. Viewing was led by sports, which was 8.4% higher than in November.

Streaming increased 1.2% in December, but lost 0.2% in market share to finish at 35.9% of overall viewership. The increase was led by the 18- to 24-year-old demographic, which was up 2.7% compared to November.

Other noteworthy streaming results:

· Netflix viewership climbed nearly 6% and accounted for 7.7% of usage.

· Tubi rose 6.6% and represented 1.4% of TV usage.

· YouTube’s share fell to 8.5% on a 3.4% drop in usage, but still tops the list of streaming sources.

· Young Sheldon (on Netflix and Max) was the top streamed title with 6.7 billion viewing minutes.