Cable, Broadcast Channels Fall to Below Half of All TV Viewing

The amount of time people spent watching cable and broadcast channels has fallen for the first time to less than half of all TV viewing, while streaming hit a new high, according to a report released Tuesday by market researcher Nielsen.

(Bloomberg) — The amount of time people spent watching cable and broadcast channels has fallen for the first time to less than half of all TV viewing, while streaming hit a new high, according to a report released Tuesday by market researcher Nielsen.

Broadcast fell to 20% of all viewing in July. Cable channels came in at 29.6% and streaming services led by YouTube, Netflix and Hulu accounted for 38.7%. Other types of viewing, such as video on demand and gaming, made up the rest.

The summer is normally a slow season for traditional TV. Broadcast and cable channels could regain some share, particularly when sports like football return in the fall.

Still, the long-term trend spells more gains for streaming services as consumers increasingly cancel their cable TV subscriptions in favor of more on-demand entertainment choices.

Major pay-TV providers lost a total of 1.73 million subscribers in the second quarter, according to data released Tuesday by the Leichtman Research Group Inc. The decline, about 2%, was roughly even with the same period last year.

(Updates with pay-TV subscriber numbers in last paragraph.)

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