Streaming in the U.S. reached a new all-time high in January in total minutes during a week, according to Nielsen’s latest The Gauge report.
The ratings company said the first week of January totaled 197.6 billion minutes of streaming, obliterating the previous record of 183 billion minutes which just set during 2021's Christmas week. The 12% increase in volume compared to December helped streaming grow its share of total TV usage by 1.1%.
According to Nielsen, this is the third month in a row to break a streaming viewership record that had stood since the start of the pandemic. The 183 billion minutes in December surpassed the previous record of 178 billion minutes during Thanksgiving week 2021, and that record had surpassed the previous high of 160 billion minutes set during a week in March 2020.
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Overall, streaming averaged more than 180 billion minutes per week in January and accounted for 28.9% of total television usage.
Thanks to big premieres including “Ozark,” “Cobra Kai” and “The Witcher,” Netflix maintained the highest individual share of streaming time with 6.6%, ahead of YouTube’s 5.7%. Total usage on Disney+ was up 25%, in addition to a 22% viewing increase for Amazon Prime, resulting in a 0.3% total share increase for both services, respectively.
Streaming wasn’t the only category to help push television usage up 8% during the month. Broadcast consumption was up 9% thanks to NFL playoff games and increased engagement with both broadcast dramas and comedies, which were up 22% and 17%, respectively, compared to December. Cable television rose 3% in usage but lost 1.7 share points to finish at 35.6% of television viewing, which Nielsen attributed primarily to a drop off in viewers watching holiday movies.