Warner Bros. Discovery Owns Largest Monthly Viewing Increase in Nielsen Report Due to March Madness and Max Streaming Growth

WBD's Max viewership climbs 6%, boosted by The White Lotus' and The Pitt' in Nielsen's March Media Distributor Gauge.

YouTube hits another platform-best; Disney and Paramount also climb.

NEW YORK - April 22, 2025 - Warner Bros. Discovery captured the largest monthly viewership increase among media distributors in March, according to Nielsen's latest Media Distributor Gauge report. The media company exhibited 3% growth in television viewing compared with February, primarily driven by March Madness coverage on TBS, TNT and truTV. Tournament games were also available to stream on Max, which allowed for additional reach to notably younger consumers.

Max notched the largest month-over-month growth among streaming services in March (+6%), further contributing to Warner Bros. Discovery's significant monthly gains. Max's increased engagement was due in large part to The White Lotus, which was No. 4 among most-streamed titles in March with 4.5 billion viewing minutes. The debut season of Max original series The Pitt contributed as well as it generated 2.3 billion viewing minutes across the month and charted in Nielsen's Streaming Top 10 for the first time during the week of March 17.

YouTube captured 12.0% of overall TV viewing in March to secure a second consecutive month as the top reported media distributor, eclipsing its previous company best share of TV of 11.6%, which it set last month. Disney gained half a share point over February to account for 10.5% of TV watch-time in March. Disney benefited from its successful cross-platform simulcast of The Oscars, which drew 20.3 million viewers across ABC and Hulu, in addition to the return of American Idol and continued strength of ABC World News Tonight.

Paramount advanced to No. 3 in the Media Distributor Gauge rankings in March (up from fifth in February) with an 8.5% share of TV (+0.3 pts.). Paramount rode the success of March Madness coverage on CBS coupled with a robust drama lineup on the network, including Tracker and Matlock, which drew 10.7 million viewers and 9.2 million viewers, respectively, across the month. Tracker also represented five of the top ten broadcast telecasts in March, averaging over 10 million viewers each (Live+7).

Despite a 0.1 point decline in share versus February, NBCU climbed from sixth to fourth in the distributor rankings and finished with 8.0% of TV in March. And although it did not change from a ranking perspective, The Roku Channel also set a platform record with 2.2% of television.

The March 2025 interval included dates 02/24/2025 through 03/30/2025. Nielsen reporting follows the broadcast calendar with measurement weeks that run Monday through Sunday.

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About The Gauge The Gauge is Nielsen's monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs through a television screen, providing the industry with a holistic look at what audiences are watching. The Gauge was expanded in April 2024 to include The Media Distributor Gauge, which reflects total viewing by media distributor across these categories. Read more about The Gauge methodology and FAQs.

About NielsenNielsen 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).

Press ContactLauren Pabst

lauren.pabst@nielsen.com

LINK:	https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/warner-bros-discovery-owns-la...
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