Media Stock Insights from Nielsen’s Aug-25 TV Snapshot
YouTube and Netflix lead, while linear continues to fall
Nielsen is out with its Aug 2025 Gauge report, exploring what Americans are watching on their big screen televisions (excluding mobile devices). YouTube is again #1 with 13.1% of all TV viewing in America, its second highest rating behind last month. With a new battle over the fate of late night television currently underway, I want to use these monthly Nielsen updates to remind everyone that 3 underlying trends still remain true, despite all the noise.
YouTube ( GOOGL 0.00%↑ ) and Netflix continue to take viewing share from their competitors.
YT and NFLX 0.00%↑ secured their #1 and #2 positions, respectively, BEFORE they bulked up on sports programming.
Legacy media players are spending time, money and political capital fighting each other rather than come up with an answer for #1 and #2 above. WBD 0.00%↑, PSKY 0.00%↑ , DIS 0.00%↑ NXST 0.00%↑ , SBGI 0.00%↑
I’ve been reporting on YouTube’s rise all year. Check out past monthly updates here: July, June, May, April, March, Feb and Jan.
Here are the key takeaways from the Aug report…
1) YouTube ($GOOGL) continued at #1, with its 2nd highest TV viewing share ever
YT’s 13.1% is down from the prior 13.4% all-time high in July. However, August was still YouTube’s 2nd highest month in Nielsen’s tracker. If this holds, then YouTube may have established a new floor at 13% of TV viewing.
It will be interesting to see how much share they give back once we get a full month of NFL and college football included with the September numbers.
It is remarkable how YT can grow so quickly from such a large base. YT was up +24% YoY, from 10.6% a year ago.
YouTube still manages to grow YoY the same amount as entire video services.
Versus Aug 2024, YouTube gained 2.5 pts of share.
That means YouTube’s annual gain was larger than the total current viewing share (Aug 2025) of Tubi (2.2%), Paramount+ (2.0%), Warner Brothers Discovery (1.4%), and Peacock (1.4%).
2) Netflix ($NFLX) was #2 with 8.7% share
Netflix’s 8.7% was down from 8.8% all-time high in July, making Aug the 2nd highest month ever for NFLX 0.00%↑ .
NFLX was up +10% YOY, from 7.9% last Aug-24.
This shows that Netflix is a solid #2 behind YouTube but still appears to have somewhat of a viewership ceiling around ~9%.
With more sports coming to Netflix each season, it feels only a matter of time before they break out above 9%.
What is amazing about Netflix is their business model allows them to grow their audience with both original and acquired series.
3) Prime Video ($AMZN) was #4 with 3.9% share
Amazon ( AMZN 0.00%↑ ) experienced the highest YOY percentage growth among all services, reaching 3.9%, up +26% from Aug 2024’s 3.1%.
Aug 2025 was AMZN’s highest month since 4.0% in December 2024.
Historically, AMZN's viewership has fluctuated between 3% and 4% over the past year, without any sustained breakthroughs.
Looking ahead, I anticipate Amazon's viewing share will grow, particularly with the introduction of NBA games as a new league partner.
Additionally, Prime Video's ad-supported default tier, which is more affordable than other streaming services, is expected to attract a larger audience over time.
I favor ad-supported streaming models over subscription-only options.
4) Tubi ($FOX / $FOXA) was #6 with 2.2% share
Tubi's viewership reached 2.2%, a +22% increase from Aug 2024's 1.8%. This suggests a new trend for Tubi, as its viewership share has remained consistent from May - Aug 2025.
It is important to remember that Tubi is wholly owned by Fox Corporation. This means Fox's free, ad-supported streaming service (FAST) outperforms HBO Max, Paramount+, and Peacock in viewing share.
Fox is excelling in the FAST market compared to its broadcast competitors. However, this achievement is often overlooked because most consumers do not associate Tubi with Fox.
5) Linear (Broadcast + Cable) continues to bleed share
I want to remind everyone that the terminal decline of BOTH broadcast and cable television viewership is continuing each month, with no end in sight.
Even with the return of football, August YoY viewing for both broadcast and cable declined significantly, by -13% and -14% respectively.
While media mergers dominate headlines, I focus on ratings as a true indicator of audience engagement.
Simply merging competing streaming services will not inherently lead to growth; profitability cannot be sustained indefinitely through cost-cutting measures alone.
Who is the buyer or the seller, in media acquisitions, does not necessarily matter. Until legacy media can effectively compete with platforms like YouTube and Netflix for audience attention, these mergers will be akin to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
-Accrued Interest
Disclaimer: The information presented in this Substack is for educational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. Investors should make their own decisions regarding the prospects of any company discussed here, as I am not a registered investment advisor.
You can always reach me at simeon@accruedint.com.
The thumbnail might be the best Gemini generated image I have seen so far.