Streaming captures nearly half of US TV viewing in December on 'Stranger Things' boost

Jan 20 (Reuters) – Streaming services captured nearly half of all television viewership in the U.S. in December, powered by Netflix's Christmas Day NFL games and the highly anticipated final season of "Stranger Things," audience measurement firm Nielsen reported on Tuesday. With a record 47.5% of total TV usage in the U.S., including a staggering 55.1 billion viewing minutes on Christmas Day, streaming services cemented their dominance over broadcast and cable, Nielsen said in its monthly report, The Gauge. Google's YouTube alone accounted for 12.7% of all television viewing last month, representing the largest audience share for a streaming service. The data reflects the ongoing transformation of the television industry, as viewers increasingly gravitate toward on-demand content and live sports migrate to digital platforms. On Christmas Day alone, streaming commanded 54% of all TV usage, the largest single-day share ever recorded by the category. The two NFL games on Netflix , new "Stranger Things" episodes, and Amazon Prime Video's late NFL game combined to propel the demand. Netflix viewership was up 10% from November, as "Stranger Things" generated over 15 billion viewing minutes to become December's most-watched streaming title. Broadcast accounted for 21.4% of TV viewership in December, while cable had a 20.2% share, Nielsen said. The shift is driving consolidation in the sector, with Netflix bidding $82.7 billion to acquire Warner Bros Discovery's studio and streaming assets. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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