College Football Playoffs on ESPN Boost Disney's Lead in Nielsen's January 2025 Media Distributor Gauge

Disney and Netflix Each Clinch Company Best Performances

FOX and Disney Lead Monthly Growth Among Distributors, Up 12% vs. December

CNN ( 39%), FOX News Channel ( 29%) and MSNBC ( 26%) Gain Traction in Busy January News Cycle

NEW YORK - February 25, 2025 - Disney accounted for 12.0% of time spent watching TV in January 2025 according to Nielsen's Media Distributor Gauge, locking in its best monthly share of TV among media companies since the report was established in November 2023. Disney's success was primarily due to the College Football Playoffs, which represented the seven highest rated cable telecasts in January, and which drove an 84% monthly increase in ESPN viewership. Overall, viewing to Disney-owned entities was up 12% versus December to add 0.8 share points.

Further summarized in Nielsen's January 2025 Gauge Classic' report, this month's Media Distributor Gauge results were also influenced by a 5% monthly increase in TV watch-time. A busy news cycle helped drive a 26% monthly uptick in cable news viewing, including 26% for MSNBC, 29% for FOX News Channel and 39% for CNN. However, FOX News Channel ultimately provided the primary boost for FOX at the total distributor level, leading the way with its coverage of the presidential inauguration. Overall, FOX was up 12% in January and tied Disney for the largest monthly viewing increase among distributors, finishing with 7.6% of total TV ( 0.5 pt.).

Netflix clinched its highest share of TV to date with 8.6% of overall viewing in January. The pure-play streamer followed an already robust December with an even stronger January as its watch-time climbed 7%. This was due in large part to Squid Game, which generated 9 billion viewing minutes as January's top streaming title, in tandem with 11 other original series and movies that reached over 1 billion viewing minutes each.

Consistent with the transition away from the holidays, cable movie viewing in January dropped 22% versus December. This contributed to a loss of 0.6 share points for Hallmark, which had previously exhibited two consecutive monthly gains, leading it to finish the month with 1.0% of TV usage.

The January 2025 interval dates included 12/30/2024 through 01/26/2025. Nielsen reporting follows the broadcast calendar with measurement weeks that run Monday through Sunday.

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January 25December '24November '24October '24September '24August '24July '24June '24May '24April '24March '24February '24January '24December '23November '23

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/college-football-playoffs-on-...
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