During this period, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (45.6%), followed by broadcast (29.6%) and cable (24.8%)
Ad supported TV viewing rose 9% from the previous quarter
New York - February 4, 2026 - Ad supported television represented 74.2% of overall TV viewing in the fourth quarter 2025, according to Nielsen's newly released Q4 Ad Supported Gauge.
This percentage marked the highest the medium hit throughout all of 2025.
Compared to Q3 2025, ad supported viewing was also up 9%, outpacing the 7% increase in total TV viewing, as football and young adults helped drive upticks.
Audiences spent 45.6% of their ad supported viewing time with streaming, 29.6% with broadcast, and 24.8% with cable. Broadcast experienced the largest quarterly jump of any ad supported viewing category throughout all of 2025 in Q4, capturing a 22% increase and adding 3.2 share points. Football was a major driver for broadcast, as sports viewing surged by 135%, almost doubling its Q3 share of the category to 34% .
Overall, the ad supported broadcast category saw its biggest increase among 25-34 year olds (up 41%), but the key demographic groups of 18-49 and 25-54 also saw increases of 31% and 29%, respectively.
Now in its fourth edition, Nielsen's Ad Supported Gauge, an extension of The Gauge , provides the industry with the broadest view of the portion of television that delivers advertising across broadcast, cable and streaming. These new insights provide advertisers and agencies with an essential, up-to-date view of opportunities to connect with consumers across ad-supported platforms.
About Nielsen Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their global audiences-now and into the future. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram).
Media Contact: Elaine WongNielsen Communications
elaine.wong@nielsen.com
More from Nielsen
05/02/2026
During this period, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (45.6%),...
04/02/2026
Pilot To Launch with Super Bowl LX on February 8 and Continue with High Profile Live Events, Entertainment and Sports
Nielsen to Use State of the Art Wearable...
29/01/2026
Bluey' Wins Second Consecutive Top Streaming Title of the Year with 45 Billi...
28/01/2026
Airlines, cruise and tour operators double down on ad spend as Australians' prioritise travel
Sydney January 28, 2026 - New Nielsen Ad Intel data shows a...
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
23/01/2026
Multi-year deal utilizes Nielsen's full suite of local audience marketing in...
23/01/2026
New York, NY January 21, 2026 - Neptune BidCo US Inc. (the Issuer or the Co...
22/01/2026
Strategic hire marks latest milestone in Gracenote's continued expansion into CTV advertising & monetization
New York - January 21, 2026 - Nielsen's Gr...
21/01/2026
The Living Room Remains Central: Nielsen Highlights Growing TV Screen Dominance ...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
13/01/2026
Singapore - January 13, 2026 - Nielsen today announced the appointment of Matty Lin to its Commercial Organization as APAC regional sales leader.
Based in Sing...
06/01/2026
First-of-its-kind SSP capability delivers program-level insight and brand suitab...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
19/12/2025
Partnership brings Nielsen ONE measurement activation directly into XR's adv...
18/12/2025
During November, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.2%, an increase of 0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
18/12/2025
November continued the upward trend in television viewership. The significantly colder weather and a rich programming lineup encouraged viewers to spend more ti...
18/12/2025
As viewers turn to sports highlights, recaps and documentary programming, expand...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
13/12/2025
Powering Client Growth: Horizon Deepens Nielsen Partnership, Enabling More Effic...
11/12/2025
A Majority of the World's Population (51%) Identify As Soccer Fans
The 2025 MLB postseason notched 58.2 billion viewing minutes, up +24% from the prior y...
10/12/2025
During this interval, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (46.4%...
08/12/2025
Nielsen's robust data offering enables marketers to connect with their target audience more effectively and drive better results throughout Amazon's adv...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
02/12/2025
NGID volunteers in the United States
NGID volunteers in Mexico
NGID volunteers in India
NGID volunteers in Spain
NGID volunteers in Australia
NGID voluntee...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
25/11/2025
Nielsen will now measure both Lionsgate's FAST channel MovieSphere and Movie...
24/11/2025
Mumbai - November 24, 2025 - In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in coll...
24/11/2025
Disney Achieves Largest Monthly Share Increase, Followed by FOX and Paramount, w...
19/11/2025
October brings a larger audience in front of TV screens. The cooler autumn weather and the continuation of new programming schedules brought increases in both t...
18/11/2025
During October, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 23.7%, a marginal shift of -0.8 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI...
18/11/2025
Broadcast Builds On Lead Over Cable, Driven by Football and Drama Programming Ga...
11/11/2025
Rural connectivity rising fast
Traditional media still matters
Rural Filipinos...
06/11/2025
With nearly 50% of streamers willing to cancel a service based on difficulty fin...
05/11/2025
A Nielsen survey of 500 directors and millions of monday.com workflows reveals t...
05/11/2025
Prime Video's VoD offerings included for the first time in standardized AGF Measurement
Frankfurt, October 28, 2025. AGF Videoforschung, together with Ama...
04/11/2025
New York, NY - November 3, 2025 - Neptune BidCo US Inc. (the Issuer or the Co...
28/10/2025
Disney, NBCUniversal, FOX, Paramount Each Achieve Double-Digit Monthly Growth
...
24/10/2025
Warsaw - Poland, October 20, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has published its latest All Screens Video Landscape r...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
16/10/2025
60% say infotainment systems are a critical purchasing or leasing consideration,...
14/10/2025
From bowser to basket, 9 in 10 Aussies are feeling the impact of rising prices
26% of households earn over $160k, but are still concerned about rising prices...
14/10/2025
New players take a bite out of big bank share as consumers increasingly value tr...
14/10/2025
56% of Aussies are looking for a coastal holiday, while 40% are planning a road ...
During this period, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (45.6%), followed by broadcast (29.6%) and cable (24.8%)
