Streaming accounted for 47% of total TV in January 2026. The updated figure confirms the Streaming category saw a decline in its share of total TV during the first month of the year.
Key Takeaways
- Streaming’s share slipped from its December 2025 peak of 47.5% down to 47% in January 2026, while Broadcast and Cable both regained ground.
- YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, and Paramount’s services declined, with only Disney showing a notable increase.
- Free streaming services were mostly steady, with Tubi reversing a months‑long decline and The Roku Channel holding its position as the largest free service.
In December 2025, Streaming scored its highest total TV share to date, with its share climbing up to 47.5%, beating out the category’s previous all-time high of 47.3% — reached in July 2025.
In spite of the increase, Streaming saw its share decline in January, dropping down from 47.5% in December to 47%, according to the latest data from Nielsen.
In contrast to Streaming, both Broadcast and Cable saw their respective total TV shares increase during the same period. Broadcast’s share increased from 21.4% in December to 21.5% in January, while Cable’s share jumped from 20.2% in December to 21.2% in January 2026.
A Decline for Many Streaming Services
With the overall Streaming category encountering a decline, so did many individual streaming services and platforms. The market leader YouTube, for example, saw its share drop from 12.7% in December to 12.5% in January.
For YouTube, this also marked another monthly decline, following a drop from 12.9% in November.
Other declines in January included Netflix’s share dropping from 9% in December to 8.8% in January, Prime Video declining from 4.3% in December to 4.1% in January, and Paramount Streaming (Paramount+ and Pluto TV) dropping from 2.5% in December to 2.3% in January.
Warner/Discovery (HBO Max and Discovery+) saw its share remain steady at 1.4%, while Disney (Disney+, ESPN Select and Hulu) saw its share increase from 4.7% in December to 4.9% in January.
Not Much Change For Free Streaming Services
The free streaming service side of the industry didn’t see much change in January, although Tubi did manage to buck its recent trend.
After dropping from 2.2% in October to 2.1% in November and then 2% in December 2025, Tubi started moving in the right direction again, with its share rising to 2.1% in January 2026.
The Roku Channel, currently the largest free streaming service based on Nielsen’s data, saw no change last month. Instead, its share remained steady at 3%, up from 2.9% in November and 2.8% in October.
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