Data: NFL return hits Prime Video, Peacock viewing in the US

The NFL season officially began in September to the delight of fans across the United States, drawing millions of viewers. Nielsen’s September 2024 report from The measuring device revealed that NFL viewership this month largely reflected audience familiarity with the cross-platform distribution of its games. This was most evident in September’s 12 percent increase in Prime Video viewership, which was largely attributable to this Thursday Night Footballand ultimately led to it achieving its best TV share on the platform at 3.6 percent (aired in September 2023 and again in October 2023).

Peacock also capitalized on NFL-driven audiences with its exclusive coverage of the Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles game on Sept. 6. The NFL’s debut in São Paulo, Brazil, drew 2.6 billion minutes watched, making the game the 11th most streamed show in September. The NFL’s resurgence was also evident on the broadcast side, as NFL games accounted for 14 of the top 15 telecasts in September, with the top three generating over 3 billion minutes each on NBC, CBS and Fox. In addition, sports broadcasts increased by almost 9 percent compared to August, although they had already seen a 44 percent increase in the previous month due to the increase from the Olympics.

Streaming maintained its TV share of 41 percent in September, although viewership fell slightly compared to August (-2.2 percent), consistent with seasonal trends. Prime Video saw the largest monthly growth of all streaming platforms reported in September (+12 percent), driven by the factors mentioned above Thursday Night Footballas well as his original series The Rings of Powerwhich was the third most watched streaming title this month with 4.3 billion minutes watched.

Disney+ was second in streaming service growth with a 5.2 percent increase in viewership and achieved the best TV share of 2.5 percent (+0.2 percentage points) on the platform in September. The gain for Disney+ was due in part to the company benefiting from making Hulu content available on the platform to package subscribers, in addition to monthly revenue of 4.2 billion minutes Bluish (4th overall). Netflix retained its TV share of 7.9 percent and owned the most successful streaming title, the original series, in September The perfect couplewhich brought in 5.5 billion viewing minutes. YouTube was also able to maintain its TV share from August onwards and remained at the top of all streaming platforms in September with 10.6 percent of TV usage.

Streaming is up 11 percent year-over-year, and most of the increase is disproportionately attributable to platforms that experienced over 30 percent year-over-year growth, including Disney+, Peacock and Tubi. However, the Roku Channel was the year’s biggest riser, as viewership on the FAST platform increased 42 percent compared to last September.

The broadcast category gained 0.6 share points in September and accounted for 22.6 percent of total television. In addition to the boost from NFL programming, the number of drama series airing saw an 11 percent increase following season debuts of several scripted series. In terms of newscasts, ABC’s simulcast of the Harris-Trump presidential debate also boosted this category, with 67.1 million viewers tuning in across all 17 networks and over 45 million viewers tuning in on one of the nine networks covering the debate radiated.

The cable television share accounted for 26.1 percent of total television in September, 0.2 percentage points less than in August. The loss was due in part to the high volume of sports and news content provided by the Olympics and four-day DNC last month, as cable sports and news genres fell 17.1 percent and 4 percent, respectively. The ABC presidential debate provided some support in this category. Coverage reached nearly 22 million viewers across eight broadcast cable networks, including over 9 million viewers on Fox News Channel. However, the main cable television broadcast in September would be the NFL Monday Night Football match between the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles on ESPN with over 13 million viewers.

The measurement month of September 2024 covered five weeks: August 26, 2024 to September 29, 2024. The Nielsen measurement weeks last from Monday to Sunday.