According to the latest edition of Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge, YouTube claimed 10.4% of total TV usage in the US this July…and the platform likely has young audiences on summer break to thank for this.
It’s an impressive figure, marking the first time a streaming platform operator has crossed the 10% mark, and also the first time one has come out on top in the Gauge—a monthly Nielsen dataset that breaks down TV usage in the US by parent company rather than by platform.
The research firm noted that YouTube’s milestone was primarily fueled by under-17s, who accounted for roughly 30% of all YouTube viewing in July, and 13% of all TV watch time (the highest number posted by this demo since July 2023.
YouTube also unseated Disney (9.9%), which slipped slightly from its 10.8% share in June. Nonetheless, Disney was comfortably ahead of NBCU (9.5%), Netflix (8.4%) and FOX (7.4%). And it still reigns as the top media distributor of the year so far, with its platforms accounting for 11% of TV viewing in the first seven months of 2024, followed by YouTube (9.6%) and NBCU (9.1%).

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