The Walt Disney Company extended its lead over YouTube in Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge, capturing 12% of total TV viewing for January—its best monthly performance since the report began in November 2023. This boost was driven by the College Football Playoffs, which saw ESPN, a Disney-owned network, experience an 84% month-over-month jump in viewership. Seven of January’s highest-rated cable broadcasts were tied to ESPN’s football coverage, significantly enhancing Disney’s position in the rankings.
Alongside sports, a busy news cycle played a key role in the increase. MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and CNN all reported double-digit growth in viewership, in part due to political coverage surrounding the presidential inauguration and other major events. This helped fuel a 5% overall increase in TV viewership for January, with significant gains in cable and broadcast segments.
At the same time, Netflix also had a standout month, reaching 8.6% of TV viewership—its highest share to date. The success of Squid Game, which racked up 9 billion viewing minutes, helped power Netflix’s performance, along with other original series and films. Netflix’s watch time grew by 7%, maintaining its strong position in the increasingly competitive streaming market.
Paramount Global and NBCUniversal also featured prominently, with shares of 8.9% and 8.1%, respectively. Fox, benefiting from its presidential inauguration coverage, achieved a 7.6% share, tying with Disney for the largest month-over-month increase among major distributors.
Despite some gains, Hallmark’s TV share dipped, partly due to a 22% drop in cable movie viewership, marking a shift away from the holiday season’s programming.
