Streaming ended March 2026 with a total TV share of 47.6%, according to the latest data from Nielsen. The latest update confirms the Streaming category saw a decline in its total TV share during the month.
What You Need to Know
- Streaming slipped from 48% in February to 47.6% in March, while Cable rose to 21.4%, its highest share since late 2025.
- YouTube, Disney+, Paramount+, and WBD grew, but Netflix, Prime Video, and especially Peacock declined.
- In terms of free services, The Roku Channel rose back up to 3% while Tubi maintained a total TV share of 2.2%.
Considering Streaming accounted for 48% in February 2026, the category saw a month-over month decline of around 0.4%. However, Streaming was still up on the 47% total TV share the category registered in January 2026.
Similar to Streaming, Broadcast also saw it share decline during the month, down from 21.7% in February to 20.3% in March. Unlike Streaming, Broadcast was also down on the 21.5% previously noted for January.
While both Streaming and Broadcast were down, Cable saw its total TV share increase, up from 20% in February to 21.4% in March. Cable was also up on the 21.2% reported for January 2026, as well as its total TV shares for the previous months, registering its largest share of TV since October 2025.
A Mixed Month for Paid Streaming Services
In terms of individual services, YouTube remained out in front, up from 12.7% in February to 13.2% in March.
Other winners during the month included Disney (Disney+, ESPN Select and Hulu), climbing from 5% in February to 5.3% in March, Paramount+ (Paramount+ and Pluto TV), climbing from 2.1% in February to 2.2% in March, and Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO Max and Discovery+), climbing from 1.3% in February to 1.4% in March.
According to Nielsen, the increases for Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery were helped by the return of the NCAA basketball tournaments.
With Streaming down in general, it is not too surprising that a few major streaming services saw their individual shares decline as well.
Netflix, for example, dropped from 8.4% in February to 8.2% in March. Prime Video also saw its total TV share drop from 3.9% in February to 3.8% in March, while Peacock saw the biggest decline overall, dropping from 3% in February to 1.8% in March.
Free Services Largely Unaffected by Streaming’s Decline
In spite of the Streaming category declining, the two major free streaming services analyzed by Nielsen didn’t appear to be too negatively impacted.
The Roku Channel actually saw an increase, with its total TV share rising from 2.9% to 3%. Although its percentage has fluctuated over the past year, Nielsen says The Roku Channel’s 3% of TV was the highest annual viewing increase of any distributor, resulting in a 27% increase compared to March 2025.
While Tubi didn’t encounter an increase, it didn’t see a decline either, maintaining a 2.2% total TV share, the same as it was in February, and up on the 2.1% reported for January 2026.
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