US TV users spend 26% of their time watching streaming services

Research Institute：US TV users spend 26% of their time watching streaming services

New data from research firm Nielsen reportedly shows that most Americans still spend screen time watching Internet and cable TV, but streaming is gaining ground. Nielsen, the company best known for measuring television usage in the United States, said Thursday that TV subscribers spend 64 percent of their time on Internet and cable TV and 26 percent on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Another 8 percent is classified as 'other,' which includes video-on-demand, streaming from cable set-top boxes and other TV services such as playing games and watching DVDs. Still, streaming's share is growing rapidly. According to the New York Times, about 20 percent of TV viewing last year was spent on streaming. By the end of this year, the report suggests, the proportion could reach 33 per cent. Nielsen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With consumers moving away from traditional pay TV and many looking for alternatives to entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic, streaming companies continue to gain dominance. Nearly 7 million U.S. households are likely to abandon traditional pay-TV service in 2020, a record high. Meanwhile, the average American already pays for four video streaming services, according to an April survey by Deloitte. So far, Netflix and google-owned YouTube have been successful winners in the streaming wars, with each company accounting for 6 percent of total airtime, the data show. Disney's Hulu is close behind with 3%, Amazon Prime Video has 2%, and Disney + has 1%.