The summer of streaming: Kids and ‘Bridgerton’ help June set a viewership record

School’s out and streaming is in.

Streaming platforms accounted for a record 40.3% of all TV usage in June, according to Nielsen data. That’s the largest share of the viewing pie for Netflix, YouTube and their ilk since the audience measurement firm began reporting the percentage figures in June 2021.

Streaming viewership rose 6% from May levels, Nielsen said this week.

The main reason for the increase will come as little surprise to parents. With the school year ending in June throughout most of the U.S., children and teenagers have more time to watch their favorite shows.

The swell in viewing was much greater among children ages 2 to 11 — up 16% — than for the general population, a reflection of the generational shift in TV habits.

“[Streaming] defines TV for them,” said Bill Hague, executive vice president for Magid, a media consulting firm.

Nielsen cited double-digit leaps month to month for family-focused Disney+ (up 14.8%), as well as Tubi (14.7%), Netflix (11.8%) and Max (11.0%), all with younger viewers accounting for much of the bounce.

Netflix saw the trend continue as its internal data for July 7-13 showed six of its top 10 films in the U.S. were kids- and family-oriented, including “Paw Patrol: The Movie.” The film based on the animated series ranked second behind the return of Eddie Murphy in “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.”

According to Nielsen, Netflix’s share of TV viewership in June was 8.4%, the most for any paid subscription service, followed by Amazon‘s Prime Video (3.1%), Hulu (3%), Disney+ (2%), Max (1.4%), Peacock (1.2%) and Paramount+ (1.1%).

The 40.3% share for streaming overall is the highest for any category since cable scored 40.1% in June 2021. With consumers cutting the cord or bypassing pay TV subscriptions, cable accounted for a mere 27.2% share of viewing in June, down 7% from the same month in 2023. Broadcast claimed 20.5% of TV usage, nearly even with a year earlier.

Streaming was also boosted by the return of popular original series.

Netflix’s hit alt-history drama “Bridgerton” scored 9.3 billion viewing minutes, making it the most watched show of the month. Prime Video’s new season of its superhero series “The Boys” scored 4 billion minutes, while the HBO “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” totaled 3.4 billion minutes on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max.

The introduction of new shows in June mirrors the strategy cable once used to eat away at the share of the broadcast networks’ audience. Cable would launch original series during the summer after the official broadcast TV season was over and the biggest scripted hits went into repeats or off the air altogether.

Broadcast networks still see a dip in the summer as popular scripted programs end their runs, but live sports continued to sustain traditional TV in June with telecasts of the NBA Finals and Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals — both on ABC — and the U.S. Olympic gymnastic trials on NBC.

Free streaming video also continues to be a compelling proposition for consumers. YouTube and Fox Corp.’s ad-supported Tubi both reached new highs for the services, hitting 9.9% and 2% of viewership, respectively.

While consumers are moving away from traditional TV, much of the content they are streaming on YouTube — which has the largest share of any service — originates on linear networks and local stations.

“We told our TV station clients two years ago that they need to be embracing YouTube,” Hague said. “You have to fish where the fish are.”

One streamer was stagnant in Nielsen’s June data: Paramount Global’s Pluto, which declined slightly to 0.8% of viewing.

The platform’s dependence on linear channels that are watched in real time, the same as traditional television, may be a factor. Tubi offers such channels as well, but a vast majority of its usage on that platform is by consumers watching video on demand.

“Tubi honestly feels like a completely free version of Netflix, whereas Pluto is organized by channels,” analyst firm LightShed Partners said in a report on Nielsen’s data. “Pluto feels more like the TV guide of the past compared to the algorithm-driven feeds consumers are increasingly accustomed to.”