14 JAN 2022

Streaming consumption hit all-time weekly high in December

Streaming was the clear outlier during the week of Christmas, as consumers in the United States watched a total of 183 billion minutes – an all-time high –, the latest version of “The Gauge” analysis from Nielsen has revealed.

14 JAN 2022

Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Linkedin
  • Whatsapp

From a total viewing perspective, streaming was the clear outlier during the week of Christmas, as consumers in the United States watched a total of 183 billion minutes – an all-time high – across the growing range of over-the-top platforms, the latest version of “The Gauge” analysis from measurement firm Nielsen has revealed.

The aggregate viewing was enough to easily dethrone the 160 billion minutes watched during March 2020 (when stay-at-home restrictions began in the United States), as well as the 178 billion minutes watched during the week of Thanksgiving, just a month earlier. The spike in streaming viewing also gave streamers 33% viewing share of total TV viewing during the week of Christmas, which was the most as measured by Nielsen.

The data also showed that, in December, broadcast viewing dropped one share point, and the “other” category, which includes video on-demand content, cable set top box streaming, gaming, and DVD usage, gained 1.6% share on the strength of video gaming, during what could be considered the “premiere season” in that category. Overall streaming was fairly flat for the month, remaining consistent with 28% share.

Looking at individual programming, “The Gauge” analysis showed the top three SVOD shows in terms of minutes watched were Netflix’s “The Witcher,” “Cocomelon” and “Criminal Minds,” with Disney+’s “Hawkeye” splitting other Netflix transmitted “Lost In Space,” “The Unforgivable,” “Seinfeld,” “NCS,” and “Back To The Outback,” and with Amazon’s “The Wheel Of Time” ranking last in the top ten.