Disney Captures Largest Month-Over-Month Gain in January TV Viewing

Disney captured the largest month-over-month gain in Nielsen’s January 2026 Media Distributor Gauge, adding 1.2 share points and finishing with 11.9 percent of total TV viewing.

This nearly ties Disney’s Media Distributor Gauge best, which was 12 percent of total TV viewing in January 2025. It also brings it within 0.6 share points of YouTube’s 12.5 percent lead.

Disney’s momentum in January was driven primarily by ESPN’s coverage of the college football playoffs and championship games, which drove an 82 percent monthly viewing increase on the network. Disney also received boosts from its ABC affiliates, with viewing up 10 percent among them.

Netflix represented 8.8 percent of total TV viewing, maintaining its third place among distributors in January. Its overall usage was up 1 percent, and Stranger Things claimed the top streaming program for a second consecutive month.

In the fourth spot was NBCUniversal-Versant, with 8.5 percent of total TV viewing. NFL games carried on NBC, plus simulcasts on Peacock, were a key factor in the overall increase. Peacock also benefited from a new season of The Traitors. Additionally, Telemundo affiliates saw a 13 percent jump in viewership.

FOX rose to 7.4 percent of total TV viewership in January, led by a 17 percent jump in viewing on FOX News Channel.

A&E, meanwhile, jumped to 8 percent in January, driven by a 46 percent increase on FYI and a 14 percent increase on Lifetime.