SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submission Preview
The Most Popular Streaming Platforms In The US Might Not Be What You Think
EDITORS: THIS HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY SOFTWARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT - THE CONTENT MAY REQUIRE EXTENSIVE EDITING
https://www.engadget.com/2295216/most-popular-streaming-platforms-united-states-not-what-you-think/ [engadget.com]
These numbers come from Nielsen's The Gauge [nielsen.com], which tracks viewing time on TV, not subscriber numbers, app downloads or viewing on a phone. In July 2026, 49 percent of all TV time was spent on streaming. Live channels watched via YouTube TV count toward broadcast or cable viewing, so the standalone pay TV service doesn't inflate YouTube's streaming share. It's interesting that the platform most focused on individual creators beat core streaming services so handily, especially when this is TV-only and thus doesn't include people looking up tutorials on their phones.
Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery each have several services grouped together, while The Roku Channel and Tubi are counted individually. These numbers are for July, before Paramount (now Skydance) acquired Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6.
Despite its lower position, Peacock had a good month, with TV viewing up 15 percent from June. World Cup coverage gave it a boost [engadget.com], and Love Island USA had 4.9 billion viewing minutes in July. Nielsen said it was still evaluating the impact of a June change to how it measures Tubi.
YouTube reported more than 700 million hours of podcasts watched on living-room devices in October 2025, up from 400 million a year earlier. Its regular videos are free with ads, but it has no shortage of ways to take your money. You can rent or buy movies, subscribe to YouTube Premium [engadget.com] or pay for individual creator memberships. Netflix primarily relies on recurring plans, while Prime Video offers rentals and add-on channel subscriptions.
Fox already owns Tubi and agreed to acquire Roku [engadget.com] in a deal valued at approximately $22 billion in June. Roku confirmed on October 19 that the transaction was still pending.
