Streaming accounts for 41.6% of time spent watching TV in November, with The Roku Channel, Prime Video and YouTube each hitting platform-best shares
World Series on FOX and presidential election coverage drive viewing peaks on broadcast and cable
The November 2024 interval dates included 10/28/2024 through 11/24/2024. Nielsen reporting follows the broadcast calendar, and measurement weeks run Monday through Sunday.
Time spent watching TV in November reached a nine-month high, according to Nielsen’s latest report of The Gauge, as viewing levels increased 5% compared to October to record the largest monthly viewing total since February. TV viewership in the November interval was impacted primarily by sports, the presidential election and live streaming, all of which drove peak shares of TV for viewing categories each in separate weeks this month. Additionally, as this interval ended on November 24, the typical Thanksgiving holiday surge in TV viewing will be included in the December report of The Gauge.
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Broadcast viewing in November was up 3% and accounted for 23.7% of time spent watching TV. The first week of the interval was the most dominant for the broadcast category as it featured Games 3, 4 and 5 of the MLB World Series on FOX, in addition to the usual slate of NFL and college football games. The final three World Series games totaled over 10 billion viewing minutes combined, and the Dodgers’ victory over the Yankees in the Game 5 conclusion drew 18.2 million viewers to make it the sixth most watched broadcast telecast this interval. This more concentrated week of broadcast sporting events lifted the category to a peak share of 24.9% of TV in the first week of the month, and helped increase broadcast sports viewing by 34% over October.
Coverage of the presidential election drove viewing increases in the second week of the month, most notably for cable. While cable ultimately finished with a 25.0% share of viewing in November, its share during the week of the election jumped to 26.5% of TV with much of the increase attributable to cable news. Interestingly, cable news viewing was up just 1% on a monthly basis, but climbed from 36 billion viewing minutes to 48 billion viewing minutes between weeks one and two (+32%) to give it the boost in share.
Streaming viewership increased 7.6% in the November interval and the category posted a record share of TV with 41.6% (+1.1 pt.). Some of this increase can be attributed to viewers seeking solace from the atypical, election-fueled news cycle covered by many traditional TV networks, and was also illustrated by the streaming category reaching 42.6% of TV viewing during the third week of the interval. Moreover, Netflix also exhibited peak viewership during week three when it hit 8.5% of TV (compared to its overall monthly share of 7.7%). This peak for Netflix coincides with the live-streamed Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match, and was also fueled by viewing to its original series The Lincoln Lawyer, which was the most watched streaming program this interval with 3.9 billion viewing minutes.
There were also three streaming services that notched platform-best shares of TV in November, including The Roku Channel (up 12% to 1.9% of TV), Prime Video (up 10% to 3.7% of TV), and YouTube, which secured a new category record with 10.8% of TV. Peacock, while short of its Olympics-driven platform record, still drew the largest monthly increase among streamers for 1.5% of TV (+0.2 pt.). Peacock’s considerable increase was partially due to Despicable Me 4, which drove 1.5 billion viewing minutes and a 58% increase in kids viewing on the platform.
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CTV AND STREAMING GLOSSARY
Few areas of the media landscape have taken the spotlight over the last year like streaming video has, fueled by increasing consumption and a wealth of new platform and content options. In June 2021, for example, streaming accounted for 27% of total TV time in the U.S., much of which is attributable to the fact that 77% of U.S. homes now have at least one connected device.
Given the growth in consumption and accompanying advertising opportunities, it’s not surprising that 60% of U.S. advertisers say they plan to shift ad dollars from linear TV to either connected TV (CTV) or over-the-top (OTT) this year. But given the breadth of the CTV universe, identifying ad opportunities isn’t always clear, and neither are many of the terms and acronyms that marketers and industry participants use, such as programmatic, CTV, OTT and advanced TV.
This glossary aggregates many of the terms and acronyms used to provide clarity amid a quickly evolving and important space in the broader media industry.
GLOSSARY
Ad Sequencing
Ad serving method where a set of ads are shown in a predefined order i.e. creative B is shown after a user has been exposed to creative A.
Advanced TV
All non-traditional TV. It’s the umbrella term encompassing over the top, connected TV and addressable TV.
AVOD
Ad-supported video-on-demand.
Behavioral Data
Data that represents buying and media consumption actions and habits.
Connected TV
TVs that have access to an internet connection and can stream video content. This can include smart TVs or standard TVs with a connected device (Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, etc.)
Global Frequency Capping
Ad serving feature that ensures a user is only exposed to a certain number of ads within an allotted time period.
Home Screen Ads
Static ads that sit on the home screen. They’re typically a short video or image and can feature a call to action like ‘learn more’.
In-stream Video Ads
15- to 30-second long ads that play before or during the program. They are a clever and cost- effective way to reuse your existing television ads for connected TV.
Incremental Reach
Unique audiences exposed to your ads, beyond those you are reaching via other screens or mediums.
Interactive Pre-Roll Ads
The same as in-stream video ads, except they allow the viewer to click through to a landing page. For example, if you’re advertising a movie, this type of ad could bring the viewer to a page where they could book a ticket.
MVPD
An acronym for Multiple Video Programming Distributor. These companies are content providers that deliver broadcast and cable programming to audiences through traditional means, such as cable boxes and satellite subscriptions. Examples include Comcast, Dish and Cox.
Over-the-Top (OTT)
Streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV and Disney+ that can be streamed on any internet-connected device without a cable or satellite subscription.
Private Marketplaces (PMPs)
Customizable, invitation-only marketplaces where premium publishers make their inventory available to buyers.
Programmatic TV
Technology-automated and data-driven method of buying and delivering ads on linear TV.
Streaming
Streaming refers to the delivery of audio and video content to a device (phone, tablet, computer, TV) through an internet connection. Streaming content can be delivered wirelessly as well as through a wired connection.
Suppression
Utilize advanced techniques to prevent targeting someone who already bought a product or service.
SVOD
Subscription video-on-demand.
vMVPD
An acronym for Virtual Multiple Video Programming Distributor. These companies are content providers that deliver aggregated live and on-demand video content through an internet connection. Examples include Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, DirecTV Now and fuboTV.
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