Kids and teens are the unsung stars of Nielsen’s latest Gauge report, which found that school-aged viewers helped propel a Netflix viewership surge in June, pushing the streamer onto the top three most-viewed list for the first time. Here are some key takeaways for Kidscreen readers from today’s report.
The headline for the industry: The total TV usage among viewers ages six to 17 was up by 27% from May, thanks to the start of summer.
How much time kids spent streaming: This cohort spent two-thirds (66%) of their total TV time streaming. Across all demos, this figure was up by 5.4% in June, and it’s kids that primarily drove this, says Nielsen.
Nielsen on this month’s data: “Overall [TV] usage has declined every month this year since the annual January peak,” said Brian Fuhrer, SVP of product strategy and thought leadership, in the report. “But with the influx of six- to 17-year-old viewing, thanks to the summer holidays from school, it officially turned the corner upwards, increasing by 3%.”
The big winner: Netflix had the biggest monthly uptick among streamers, with an overall 13.5% viewing increase compared to May. And the growth was even steeper among six to 17s at 32%. Thanks to these bumps, Netflix managed to break into Nielsen’s top-three media company list for the first time—behind only YouTube and Disney.
The series that drove the success: Nielsen gives props to Netflix’s original YA-skewing series Ginny & Georgia. It was the most-streamed title in June, with 8.7 billion viewing minutes, according to Nielsen. Season three came out on June 5.

Netflix’s YA series Ginny & Georgia, which dropped its third season in the beginning of June, was the most-streamed title last month, with 8.7 billion minutes viewed.
Who else benefited: Next to Netflix, Peacock saw the largest month-over-month increase with the six to 17 crowd. This demo spent 37% more time on Peacock—the home of DreamWorks titles including Dog Man, How to Train Your Dragon and The Bad Guys.
What else kids did with their screen time: This demo drove a 41% jump in streaming on “other” platforms including video game consoles and set-top boxes (like cable boxes). By comparison, the overall “other” category increase was only up by 14% in June.
YouTube also has kids and teens to thank: YouTube retained its ranking as the most-viewed streamer for the fifth consecutive month, and it’s in part because of kids. The AVOD’s overall viewership was up by 6% compared to May, and all told it captured 12.8% of total TV usage, its largest share to date.