TV usage in November hit its highest point in 10 months, due in large part to heavy levels of viewing over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Broadcast networks also hit their highest share of viewing since January. Streaming once again claimed the biggest portion of viewers’ time, although its share was off a little from the previous month, and cable shrank some more to its lowest point in the two-year history of Nielsen’s monthly Gauge rankings.
TV use across all platforms grew by 5.7 percent compared to October, according to the ratings service. Broadcast networks outpaced that, improving by 7 percent in viewing time month to month. They accounted for 24.9 percent of all viewing for the month, up from 24.6 percent in October. Most of that bump came during Thanksgiving week: While three weeks prior to the holiday saw a modest gains of about 3 percent over the same period in October, the week of Nov. 20-26 — which featured the most watched Macy’s Thanksgiving parade on record and three huge NFL games — surged by more than 18 percent.
Streaming, as usual, snagged the largest portion of viewers’ time with 36.1 percent of all TV use. While streaming usage was up slightly from October, its share of all viewing declined from 36.6 percent a month earlier. Kids’ (and parents’) favorite Bluey was the most streamed show for the month (or, more precisely, the four weeks from Oct. 30-Nov. 26), racking up 3.78 billion minutes of viewing.
Cable struggled, falling from 29.5 percent of viewing in October to 28.3 percent in November. Viewing time slid by 13 percent month to month. One bright spot: feature films, which made up 19 percent of all cable viewing (surpassing news, the usual cable leader) as multiple networks ramped up their holiday movie slates.
Nielsen’s platform rankings for November are below.
Platforms
Streaming: 36.1 percent of TV use
Cable: 28.3 percent
Broadcast: 24.9 percent
Other: 10.7 percent
Streaming Services
YouTube: 9 percent
Netflix: 7.4 percent
Prime Video: 3.4 percent
Hulu: 2.7 percent
Disney+: 1.9 percent
Tubi: 1.4 percent
Peacock: 1.3 percent
Max: 1.2 percent
Roku Channel: 1 percent
Paramount+: 0.9 percent
Pluto TV: 0.8 percent
Others: 5.1 percent
And the 10 most streamed titles for November:
Bluey (Disney+), 3.78 billion minutes viewed
Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 3.7 billion
Suits (Netflix/Peacock), 3.29 billion
Friends (Max), 3.04 billion
NCIS (Netflix/Paramount+), 2.91 billion
Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 2.52 billion
Cocomelon (Netflix), 2.46 billion
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Netflix), 2.44 billion
Six Feet Under (Max/Netflix), 2.33 billion
All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix), 2.14 billion
