Sports and scripted dramas lead broadcasting to third consecutive month of growth and largest TV share since January
MLB playoffs and NFL games draw big ratings on FOX
NFL games rank among the top 16 broadcasts of the month
NEW YORK – November 19, 2024 – The viewership continued its seasonal rise in October, thanks to gains in both sports and drama, according to The Gauge™’s October 2024 Nielsen report. The broadcast category recorded 7% monthly growth and added 1.4 share points in October, reaching 24.0% of total time spent watching television, its highest monthly share since January. October marked the third consecutive month of growth for broadcast, and the category added 3.7 share points over this period.
October’s viewership gains were driven by a 29% increase in drama ratings and a 10% increase in sports ratings. NFL games once again dominated the rankings of the most-watched broadcasts of the month, taking the top 16 most-watched programs. The Week 7 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers drew the largest audience of October with 27 million viewers on FOX. Outside of football, Game 1 of the World Series on FOX drew 15.2 million viewers and ranked 17th most-watched.
Cable viewing represented 26.3% of total television usage in October (+0.2 percentage points) and the category recorded the first positive change in share since April. Cable viewing was supported by a 5% increase in newscasts, led by the October 1 Vice Presidential Debate and coverage in the month leading up to Election Day, and a 52% increase in sports viewers, led by NFL Monday Night Football, college football, and MLB playoff games. Sports and news programs also topped the list of most-watched cable broadcasts in October, with the NFL Monday Night Football game between Kansas City and New Orleans taking the top spot with 14 million viewers on ESPN, followed from FOX News Channel’s presentation of the VP Debate which attracted 7.9 million viewers to the network. On a year-over-year basis, cable news was up 17% compared to October 2023, while cable sports was up 14%.
The number of streaming viewers in October remained fairly stable compared to last month, with eight of the 11 streaming services reporting within 0.1 share point or less of their September totals. The category represented 40.5% of total time spent watching TV (-0.5 pt.). Among the streaming services with the largest monthly differences, The Roku Channel grew 12% and added 0.2 share points to end the month at 1.8% of television, a high point for the FAST service. Netflix fell 4% to 7.5% of television (-0.4 percentage points), but still managed to hold the top five original shows in streaming this month, led by Love Is Blindwhich was also October’s top streaming title, with 4.4 billion minutes watched.
*Note: A portion of Hulu views (estimated at approximately 25%) were inadvertently attributed to Disney+ during this span. The issue was fixed at the end of October and will be fixed in the future. This will have no impact on the October Media Distributors Indicator.
The measurement month of October 2024 includes four weeks: 09/30/2024 to 10/27/2024. Nielsen measurement weeks are Monday through Sunday.
About Gauge
The Gauge™ is Nielsen’s monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption occurring across a television screen, providing the industry with a holistic look at what audiences are watching. The Gauge was expanded in April 2024 to include the Media Distributor Gaugewhich reflects the total vision for media distributors in these categories. Learn more about The Gauge’s methodology and FAQ.
About Nielsen
Nielsen is a world leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our knowledge of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we provide our clients with independent, actionable insights, so they can connect and engage with their global audiences, now and in the future. To learn more, visit www.nielsen.com and reach out to us on social media(X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook e Instagram).
Contact with the press
Lauren Pabst
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