Media Distributor Rankings Shift with Football & Baseball Broadcasts

Though YouTube, Disney and NBCUniversal remained the top three media companies in terms of total TV watch time, live sports—namely, the start of the NFL and college football seasons and coverage of the MLB postseason—shifted other rankings, according to Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge for October.

The rankings, as mentioned, were led by YouTube with 12.9 percent of total TV watch time, Disney with 11.4 percent and NBCUniversal with 8.6 percent. Disney achieved the largest share increase in October, adding 0.7 share points as its overall viewership grew 7 percent month-over-month.

Disney’s success in October was driven by balanced growth across linear and streaming platforms. Its ESPN and ABC affiliates each saw a 9 percent viewing increase, while Disney streaming—Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+—contributed a 7 percent bump.

Live sports and linear programming saw both FOX and Paramount mirror Disney’s 7 percent monthly growth, and each climbed one spot in the distributor rankings. FOX finished with 8.4 percent of TV, while Paramount finished with 8.2 percent.

FOX’s gains were driven by the MLB playoffs. FOX Sports 1 recorded a 285 percent viewing bump during its coverage of the American League Champnioship Series and contributed 0.4 points to FOX’s 0.5-point increase. FOX affiliates rose 12 percent, driven by the start of the World Series, college football’s Big Noon Saturday and NFL games on Sundays.

The growth at Paramount was powered by increases across linear and streaming, with CBS affiliates up 13 percent and Paramount+ up 8.3 percent.

Warner Bros. Discovery also benefited from the MLB Playoffs in October, adding 0.2 points month-over-month to capture 5.6 percent of total TV watch time.