Riding a strong set of new programming launches, Netflix broke into the top three in June’s Media Distributor Gauge report from Nielsen, but YouTube remained on top for a fifth straight month.
The final season of Squid Game, the third season of Ginny & Georgia and music-driven movie breakout KPop Demon Hunters helped Netflix to reach 8.3% of total viewing, its highest level since January. It was the first top-three finish by the streaming giant, which usually is outflanked given that the chart aggregates all content across media companies’ linear and streaming platforms and also favors YouTube’s free service. (See the full chart below.)
Speaking of Google’s video giant, Niesen said it benefited from kids 6 to 17 being off from school in June, climbing 6% over May to reach 12.8% of all viewing, its highest share of viewing to date.
Disney, powered by ESPN viewing during football season, had spent several months in the No. 1 spot. The company crowed about its Nielsen crown last January during its annual Tech & Data Showcase at the CES tech conference in Las Vegas. By June, though, YouTube enjoyed a 2.8-percentage-point lead over Disney, its biggest margin ever.
Disney recorded 10% of all viewing, Nielsen said, noting that ABC affiliates accounted for the top 33 broadcast telecasts, driven largely by the NBA Finals and ABC World News Tonight.
The report follows last week’s Gauge report breaking down viewing sources overall, with broadcast TV slipping to an all-time low of 18.5% of viewing time.
Here is the full June chart:
