World Cup, NBA Finals Lift Broadcast Viewership to 19.8% in June
Fox and NBCU/Versant were the biggest beneficiaries, but their gains were not enough to topple YouTube and Disney The post World Cup, NBA Finals Lift Broadcast Viewership to 19.8% in June appeared first on TheWrap .
The World Cup and NBA Finals led to a 118% surge in broadcast viewing in June, propelling the category to a 19.8% share of TV time, marking the first increase since Nielsen's Gauge report in 2021. Cable viewership declined by 2% to 19.5% due to the absence of NBA and NHL playoffs, which caused a 10% drop in sports viewership. Streaming accounted for 48.5% of TV viewing, up about 3% from May, though it was still below the 3.1% increase in overall TV usage.
Fox and NBCUniversal benefited from hosting the FIFA World Cup, which garnered over 84 billion minutes across their platforms, but neither distributor saw enough of a boost to surpass YouTube and Disney in viewership. Fox ranked fourth with 7.4% of total TV watch-time, while NBCU and Versant placed third with 9.1%. Peacock, exclusive to Spanish-language World Cup coverage, saw a 143% monthly increase and a 60% rise in audience engagement on days airing that content.
Peacock's streaming titles, "Love Island USA" and World Cup highlights, boosted viewership by 34% and 6.8 billion minutes, respectively. Disney's TV viewership included 4.6% from streaming services, bolstered by ABC's NBA Finals coverage, which drove a 15% viewing bump for affiliates.
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