TV Viewing Hits 12-Month High in January

According to Nielsen’s latest The Gauge report, TV viewing rose to a 12-month high in January, with overall viewing up 3.7 percent over December, fueled by a 9 percent monthly increase in cable viewership.

Cable captured the largest monthly viewing increase in January and represented 21.2 percent of total TV. This was driven by high-stakes sports events, returning broadcast dramas and colder winter temperatures that kept audiences indoors.

Cable sports viewing surged 49 percent over December, propelled by ESPN’s coverage of the college football playoffs, which included the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship games. ESPN alone saw an 82 percent increase in monthly viewing.

Cable news benefited from an active news cycle in January and rose 13 percent over December, driven by a 17 percent viewership gain for FOX News Channel and a 29 percent gain for CNN.

Sports remained the anchor for broadcast viewership in January as football continued to dominate. NFL games accounted for the top 15 broadcast telecasts, and the sports genre represented the largest share of the category’s viewership, with 30 percent.

Broadcast dramas were also on the rise, up 24 percent over December. High Potential on ABC emerged as the most-watched drama program of the month. Similar to cable, the busy news cycle boosted broadcast news viewing by 10 percent compared to last month. Overall, broadcast viewership was up 4.2 percent over December and represented 21.5 percent of TV viewing.

Time spent streaming increased 2.7 percent month-over-month, and the category continued to represent the majority of TV usage with 47 percent. Netflix achieved a steady 1 percent viewing increase (8.8 percent of total TV viewing), while Peacock viewership was up 10 percent to bring the streamer to 1.8 percent of TV Viewing. Across the free ad-supported streaming platforms, Tubi and The Roku Channel each claimed monthly increases, with Tubi up 6 percent to grab 2.1 percent of TV viewing and The Roku Channel increasing 5 percent to maintain 3 percent of TV viewing.