Streaming usage hit a new high in May 2026 with the category accounting for 48.6% of total TV watch-time during the month. The new all-time high comes on the back of months of either dropping or maintaining its total TV share.
What You Need to Know
- Streaming reached a new record share of TV viewing in May, while cable and broadcast declined.
- Major paid services like YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount, and Peacock saw gains.
- Free platforms remained strong, with The Roku Channel hitting a new high and Tubi holding steady.
Back in December 2025, Streaming’s share accounted for 47.5%, its highest total TV share at the time, before then hitting 48% in February 2026. Since then, the category’s share had dropped down to around 47.6%.
In May, however, Streaming scored its highest total TV share to date, according to the latest The Gauge data from Nielsen. At 48.6%, the category managed to climb a full percentage point between April and May.
In contrast, Cable accounted for 20.4%, a decline from 21.6% in April and 21.4% in March. Likewise, Broadcast’s share stood at 19.2% in May, a decrease from 19.9% in April and 20.3% in March.
YouTube, Netflix and More Gain
At the individual service level, YouTube maintained its top spot with a share of 13.8%. Similar to the Streaming category in general, this marked a notable increase on 13.4% in April and 13.2% in March.
After months of slipping, Netflix also saw its share increase to 8% in April. While an increase on the 7.8% reported for April, Netflix’s share was still down on 8.2% in March and 8.4% in February.
Other winners in May included Prime Video at 4.5% (up from 4.2% in April and 3.8% in March), Paramount (Paramount+ and Pluto TV) at 2.3% (up from 2.1% in April and 2.2% in March), and Peacock at 1.8% (up from 1.7% in April and equal to March’s 1.8%).
For Disney (Disney+, ESPN Select and Hulu), the month wasn’t quite as good. Disney’s total TV share stood at 4.9%, down from 5% in April and 5.3% in March.
Lastly, Warner Bros. Discovery saw no change with its share remaining at 1.5%, the same as April but up on the 1.4% reported for March.
A New Personal Best for The Roku Channel
As has been the case for some time now, free streaming services continued to perform well.
In the case of The Roku Channel, the free stremaing service’s share climbed to 3.1%, up from 3% in April and 3% in March.
According to Nielsen, May marked a new platform best for The Roku Channel.
While Tubi didn’t see any increase during May, it didn’t see any decline either. After increasing from 2.2% in March to 2.3% in April, Tubi closed out May with a total TV share of 2.3%.
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