Nielsen: Content with ads dominates US TV viewing
July 30, 2025
Nielsen has revealed that viewing of content with ads gained 1.2 share points in the second quarter of 2025, finishing with 73.6 per cent of overall TV viewing in the US, in the second installment of its Ad Supported Gauge, an extension of The Gauge. Coinciding with the start of summer in many areas of the US, the Q2 2025 edition of this report revealed several key growth areas, namely:
- Viewing to content with ads gained 1.2 share points to finish at 73.6 per cent, and the complementary non-ad supported component dropped to 26.4 per cent share.
- Streaming picked up 2.9 share points compared to Q1 with the majority of that (2.7 share points) shifting over from ad-supported broadcast and the remaining 0.2 share points being given up by cable.
- The cable category had the benefit of a strong news cycle as well as broad coverage of the NBA playoffs while the streaming platforms continued to introduce newly available seasons of popular shows such as Love Island USA, Squid Game and Ginny & Georgia, as well as recently re-released series such as Animal Kingdom and Blindspot.
Specifically, the report found that overall viewing in Q2 was down by 9 per cent compared to Q1 and viewing to ad supported content was down by 8 per cent. Ad-Supported broadcast dropped 16 per cent and ad-supported cable was down by 8 per cent. Ad-supported streaming held flat during a season when viewers tend to dial back their media consumption.
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