Broadcast viewership typically increases in the fall, with the start of the new TV season and the offering of live sports. The fall of 2024 is proving to be no different.
Broadcasters claimed their largest share of TV consumption in the United States in nine months in October, accounting for 24 percent of all viewers for the month. This is the highest figure for over-the-air networks since January (24.2 percent) and an increase of 1.4 share points from September.
NFL games accounted for the 16 most-watched telecasts of the October period (which ran from September 30 to October 27 in Nielsen’s reporting), led by the October 20 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. 27 million viewers did for the Fox broadcast. The number of games on broadcast outlets overall increased by 10 percent compared to September.
Broadcast dramas also made significant monthly gains as the hour-long series aired on all five English-language networks in October. Viewers spent 29 percent more time with network dramas than in September.
Cable posted its first gain in TV usage share since April, rising two-tenths of a point to 26.3 percent. Sports once again played a large role in the gains, as sports viewing on cable increased 52 percent from September with NFL, college football and Major League Baseball playoff games. News viewership increased by 5 percent month-on-month.
With gains from cable and broadcast, streaming lost some share, grabbing 40.5 percent of TV usage in October versus 41 percent or more in each of the previous three months. Other TV usage (gaming, physical media playback and the like) was at 9.2 percent, down below 10 percent for the first time in a year.
YouTube was again the most-watched individual streaming platform with 10.6 percent of all TV consumption in October, three points higher than second-place Netflix.
Nielsen’s gauge data for October 2024 is below.
Credit : www.hollywoodreporter.com
