Rough times for broadcast networks illustrate changing media landscape

NEW YORK — Two milestones revealed this week illustrate the diminishing power of broadcast television in the media world — one fueled by the habits of young people and the other by their elders.

During June, viewers spent more time watching streaming services than they did for broadcast and cable television combined. That happened for the first time ever in May, by a fraction of a percentage point, but the Nielsen company said on Tuesday that gap widened considerably in June.

Also, for the third straight week, Nielsen said that Fox News Channel had more viewers in prime-time on weeknights than any of the main the broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox entertainment.

For years, the mantra of media executives was that streaming represented the future for in-home entertainment. Now, that future has clearly arrived.

Broadcast TV slips below 20% of total

In June, 46% of Americans' TV time was spent on streaming services, led by YouTube and Netflix. Cable television networks represented 23.4% and broadcast was 18.5%, for a total of just under 42%, Nielsen said. It was the first time broadcast TV had ever slipped below 20% of total TV viewing.

''It kind of felt like the right time,'' said Brian Fuhrer, Nielsen's senior vice president for product strategy and thought leadership. ''A lot of people thought it would happen more quickly.''

The driving force in June was school ending for young people, meaning they had more time to watch TV, where Netflix series like ''Ginny & Georgia'' and ''Squid Game'' were big hits. Roughly two-thirds of people aged 6 to 17 watched streaming ahead of conventional TV, Nielsen said.

In June 2024, the numbers were roughly reversed — 47.7% of people were watching conventional TV in an average minute, with 40.3% logged on to a streaming service.

While the direction is clear, it's not a death knell for conventional TV. June and July are fallow months, and their viewing will increase when football season begins and original episodes of comedies and dramas return, Fuhrer said.

Content is distributed over more platforms

It's also not a strict either-or situation; media companies are doing a better job spreading their content out on different platforms to give viewers a choice, he said. The growth of YouTube, which many consumers can access for free and is a portal for "traditional" TV, has also fueled streaming services.

Fox News has occasionally eclipsed the broadcast networks in viewership before, but last week represented the seventh week it has done so in 2025, already more than 2024 and 2023 combined. It averaged 2.4 million viewers in prime time on weeknights last week, Nielsen said.

Fox News is also taking advantage of what is traditionally the least-watched time of the year for broadcast networks, when summer nights and barbecues keep people outside. The difference this year is it has won a few weeks outside of the summer, during President Donald Trump's inauguration week in January, for example.

Its audience — among the oldest of all television networks — tends to stay pretty steady throughout the year.

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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social