YouTube, Netflix Ride the Wave of Summer Streaming Highs in Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge

YouTube Captures 13.4% of TV Viewing in Sixth Consecutive Month as the Top Media Distributor Netflix Maintains Top 3 Ranking with Platform-Best 8.8% of TV Hallmark Gets a Boost from Annual ‘Christmas in July’ NEW YORK – August 26, 2025 – YouTube continued its streak as TV’s leading media distributor in July, which marked its sixth consecutive month atop Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge report. YouTube captured 13.4% of TV watch-time and widened its lead over second-place Disney (9.4%) by 4.0 share points, establishing the largest lead by a media company to date since Nielsen began the Media Distributor Gauge calculations in November 2023. As reported in Nielsen’s The Gauge™, pure-play streamers continued to benefit from the summer lull in traditional TV viewing, as Netflix and The Roku Channel also set platform high water marks in July. Netflix maintained its ranking among the top three media distributors this month by adding half a share point over June to finish with 8.8% of TV. Driven by a steady flow of new releases across original and acquired titles, Netflix boasted the largest volume gain across all streaming platforms this month, increasing its average minute audience by an additional 215,000 viewers compared to June.
Read More