NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2025 - Black audiences spend 32 hours on apps and websites on their smartphones and tablets-two hours more than the total U.S. population, according to the latest exclusive Nielsen's Diverse Intelligence Series report Engaging Black audiences: How brands impact, grow and win with inclusion. As Black consumers continue to be digital trendsetters, brands' must finetune their approach to engaging with this audience in order to drive long-term connections.
Reaching Black consumers may not be a challenge-but connecting with us can be. Black consumers are leaning into platforms that emphasize conversation and create a sense of connection, says Charlene Polite Corley, Vice President of Diverse Insights & Partnerships. To win with this community who wields $2 trillion in buying power, brands must prioritize engagement strategies that center diverse Black experiences and cultural nuances. With the growing diversity of audiences and media platforms, Nielsen's approach-big data verified and enhanced by robust panels-helps marketers understand what and where diverse audiences are consuming content.
Social media apps have become a haven for Black consumers - Black adults overall spend more time scrolling than their peers. Black millennials (between 18 and 34-years-old) spend the most time on social media among all adults by almost an hour per week. Black adults also have high engagement with radio and podcasts. Radio averages the same as TV in weekly reach with Black adults - each medium reaches 27 million Black adults on average.
Black audiences continue to be power TV viewers, spending 46 hours and 13 minutes per week watching TV, compared to almost 35 hours for the total U.S. population. 46% of that time is spent on streaming, which is gaining share year-over-year with Black adults. YouTube is the top platform-where Black audiences spend 13% of their total TV time, compared to 10% for all U.S. viewers. In fact, YouTube reaches 63% of Black adults and 44% report that they have purchased products based on YouTube content. The preference for YouTube as a source outpaces word of mouth, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Other digital platforms also offer the conversations and commentary that influence Black consumers' purchasing decisions. 63% say they're more likely to evaluate a new brand based on a social media ad or content, compared with 58% overall. In addition, podcasts drive powerful connections: 73% of Black listeners were able to recall a brand name after ad exposure compared to 70% overall.
Black sports fans offer brands a new opportunity to turn fan loyalty into brand loyalty. For women's basketball, with Black talent like Angel Reese and A'ja Wilson attracting interest, viewership hit record highs. Between 2023 and 2024, Black viewership increased 161% for the WNBA All-Star Game, 227% for the WNBA Draft and 51% for the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. This engagement is likely to drive sales: Black fans are 7% more likely than all sports fans to buy a brand after seeing its sponsorship activations.
For more details and insights, download the full report. Join the conversation on LinkedIn.
CONTACT
Patricia Ratulangi
Global Communications Diverse Insights & Partnerships
patricia.ratulangi@nielsen.com
ABOUT NIELSEN'S DIVERSE INTELLIGENCE SERIESIn 2011, Nielsen launched the Diverse Intelligence Series, a robust portfolio of comprehensive reports that focus on diverse audiences and their media preferences, media trends and representation. The series has become an industry resource to help brands better understand and reach diverse customers. To learn more about Nielsen's Diverse Intelligence research series, visit www.nielsen.com.
ABOUT NIELSENNielsen shapes the world's media and content as 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 audiences-now and into the future. Nielsen operates around the world in more than 55 countries. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram).
More from Nielsen
11/09/2025
Warsaw, Poland, 20.08.25: Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest July All Screens Video Landscape repor...
11/09/2025
Warner Bros. Discovery to add key Big Data and Advanced Audience capabilities fr...
09/09/2025
Streaming drives 55.8% of total TV time for Hispanic viewers,
outpacing 46% fo...
03/09/2025
New Gracenote Video MCP Server brings veracity and relevance to large language model-driven content discovery
NEW YORK - September 3, 2025 - Gracenote, the con...
02/09/2025
Big Data Panel Provides More Accurate Measurement
Data Than Ever Before
New...
27/08/2025
News and horror genres are biggest drivers of FAST expansion according to Gracen...
26/08/2025
YouTube Captures 13.4% of TV Viewing in Sixth Consecutive Month as the Top Media...
20/08/2025
Auckland, New Zealand - 19 August 2025: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, is pleased to announce a two-year extension for T...
20/08/2025
July, much like June, is a month marked by summer weather and vacations, which has reflected in a further decline in viewer activity in front of TV screens. The...
20/08/2025
During July, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 24.6% of T...
20/08/2025
Netflix, YouTube and The Roku Channel Each Hit Platform Highs
Netflix Owns 8 of...
20/08/2025
New collaboration brings granular audience insights from NMC so advertisers, agencies, and publishers can gain a better understanding of their audience
Now ava...
13/08/2025
Sydney - August 13, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, today announced the upcoming launch of Connected TV (CTV) insi...
06/08/2025
Nielsen ONE planning unifies data, empowering both buy and sell sides to reach a...
06/08/2025
New advanced audience integration provides interoperability, helps brands reach their audiences.
NEW YORK - August 5, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audien...
06/08/2025
Auckland - August 6, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement and...
06/08/2025
NPR and Ocean Media Among Charter Subscribers
For the First Time Advertisers Ca...
01/08/2025
New open ecosystem in Nielsen ONE provides more holistic view
of an ad's o...
29/07/2025
Streaming Holds Steady in a Lighter Summer Viewership Season
NEW YORK - July 29...
23/07/2025
Netflix Posts Largest Monthly Increase Among Media Companies - Climbs to Largest...
22/07/2025
During June, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 23.7...
22/07/2025
Sydney - July 17, 2025 - Australia's leading financial brands have significantly increased their advertising investment, showing 16% year-on-year growth, ac...
21/07/2025
June, the first month of summer and the start of a vacation season, brought an expected decrease in viewer activity in front of TV screens. The latest data indi...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 17, 2025 - Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, has announced the appointment of Ryan Moore to the new role of Chief Business O...
16/07/2025
Warsaw - Poland, June 24, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest May All Screens Video Landscape...
16/07/2025
Bluey Tops Nielsen's Overall Streaming List with More Than 25 Billion Minutes Streamed from January through June 2025
Big June Vaults Squid Game into Top O...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
14/07/2025
UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases
London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
09/07/2025
Collaboration will result in improved data quality and understanding of genre-le...
25/06/2025
YouTube Extends Lead and Tops All Media Distributors for Fourth Consecutive Mont...
25/06/2025
Copenhagen, Denmark - June 25, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measu...
24/06/2025
Initial enhancement comes in Germany, before roll out in further EMEA markets
LONDON, UK June 23, 2025 Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
19/06/2025
May 2025 was a month packed with events that captivated viewers, from the presidential campaign in Poland to the international Eurovision Song Contest. It's...
19/06/2025
During May, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed a slight decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 23.5%...
17/06/2025
Streaming Notches a Record 44.8% of Total TV Usage in May
Streaming Usage Up 71...
12/06/2025
Over a third of global football fans find brand sponsorship appealing and 41% of all sports sponsorships are in that sport.
The FIFA World Cup 2026TM will open...
05/06/2025
Show-level visibility and granular contextual targeting enabled by Gracenote gives brands more confidence in CTV buys
NEW YORK June 5, 2025 Gracenote, the...
04/06/2025
Viewership figures once again show appeal of important live sporting events
Mil...
03/06/2025
Nielsen and VIZIO's Inscape are extending their strategic data relationship, building on our collaboration that began in 2022. This multi-year agreement rei...
29/05/2025
Renewal Spans all 18 Local Fox Markets and Includes Streaming Measurement of Loc...
29/05/2025
Leading streamers expanded TV, movie and sports titles by 5% in Q2; Netflix led ...
27/05/2025
Mumbai, India
Brazil
Guadalajara, Mexico
Philippines
Poland
Throughout the month of April, Nielsen employees celebrated Global Volunteer Month with volunte...
27/05/2025
Paramount Exhibits Largest Monthly Increase in April's Media Distributor Gau...
22/05/2025
Sports fans can now seamlessly go between platforms and content types to follow favorite sports teams, live games and related content with Gracenote Nexus Auto
...
21/05/2025
The seventh annual report uncovers how marketers are adapting to market trends a...
21/05/2025
During April, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 24....
21/05/2025
Streaming Accounts for 44.3% of TV viewing in April, vs. 45.3% for Broadcast and...
21/05/2025
The April 2025 data is in line with the seasonal trend observed in previous years. As in April last year, there was a decline in viewership associated with impr...
NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2025 - Black audiences spend 32 hours on apps and websites on their smartphones and tablets-two hours more than the total U.S. population, according to the latest exclusive Nielsen's Diverse Intelligence Series report Engaging Black audiences: How brands impact, grow and win with inclusion. As Black consumers continue to be digital trendsetters, brands' must finetune their approach to engaging with this audience in order to drive long-term connections.
