YouTube’s living room ambitions pay off: It’s the first streamer to take 10% of all TV watch time

YouTube‘s tireless work to challenge network TV has paid off: It’s officially the first streaming platform ever to exceed 10% of total living room TV usage, according to the latest data from Nielsen.

It hit this milestone in July, after reaching 9.7% of total TV viewership in March and 9.9% in June. For July, it stands at 10.4%, with the next closest competitor, Netflix, lagging behind at 8.4%.

And that record-setting 10.4% contributes to another record: streaming as a whole (with YouTube, Netflix, Amazon‘s Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Tubi, Roku, Peacock, Max, Paramount+, Pluto TV, and a few unnamed smaller streamers) hit 41.4% of total living room TV viewership–the largest share for any viewing format in Nielsen data history.

Cable TV came in at 26.7%, and broadcast was at 20.3%. So not only does streaming have a higher share of TV viewership, but it has a much higher share of TV viewership–almost double, in broadcast’s case.

We’re guessing YouTube is feeling pretty good about this number. It touted the previous 9.7% figure during its most recent Brandcast, which, of course, was held during the TV-focused Upfronts rather than the digital-focused Newfronts, a change YouTube made in 2022. Now it has an even bigger number, and we’re expecting that figure to grow by the next time Brandcast rolls around.

We think a big contributor to that growth might be YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket

. Nielsen’s data for July showed that Olympics coverage pushed Peacock to its second-best share of TV watch time ever (1.5%), up 33% from the previous month. Viewers are growing hungrier for live sports by the minute, so being able to watch Sunday Ticket on their living room TVs might boost YouTube’s numbers once the NFL season begins. (YouTube really wants that to happen, btw: It’s rolling out yet more Sunday Ticket features to tempt viewers.)

The one advantage other streaming services do have over YouTube is original scripted and unscripted series, from Love Island USA, which also contributed to Peacock’s 33% month-over-month growth, to Max’s House of the Dragon, which was the No. 1 show across any streaming service in July, with 4.7 billion minutes watched on TVs. That show alone gave Max a 4% month-over-month increase, and kept it at 1.4% of total TV viewership.

But, while YouTube doesn’t have network-produced reality TV or fantasy epics, it does have millions upon millions of creators absolutely churning out content across all niches–and, based on YouTube’s new record, it’s clear that’s what many viewers want.