According to Nielsen’s “Monthly Media Distributor” rankings, Disney has managed to keep YouTube in second place for viewing market share— but it was a close race indeed. To tell us more, we have Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake.
December Champions
The ratings cover the entirety of the Disney “empire,” so they also feature ABC and cable channels alongside their streaming platforms. Together, these accounted for about 11.2% of overall TV viewing domestically. YouTube was hot on their heels at 11.1%, however.
Disney also took home the accolades for the most-viewed TV series in 2024. Ironically, their child-focused Bluey IP, with 55.62B (yes, billion) minutes watched throughout the year. In fact, Disney showed all 5 of the Top 5 Series list for 2024 on one Disney platform or another, though not all titles were actual Disney IPs.
Close Competition
YouTube, meanwhile, seems to be benefiting greatly from parent company Google’s switch to pushing the app as a “viewing destination” for real TV rather than just another video platform. Intriguingly, Paramount Global came in third place, though given its sprawling suite of channels, including CBS and Paramount+, that may not be as surprising as it first seems. It also offers the ever-popular NFL games.
While it missed the Top 3, Netflix made significant gains, with Virgin River and Squid Game’s second season premiere as well as some select NFL games to offer viewers. They currently sit at around 8% of market share. Warner Bros. Discovery took home 6%, while Amazon Prime also saw a small increase, landing at 4%.
The Roku Channel had its own positive gains as well, increasing by 0.3% to cap out at 2% of the viewing market share. This builds on Roku’s recent bragging that the service now reaches 90M households through its streaming services. All in all, it’s an interesting spread of TV viewership. Now, the real question is whether YouTube can beat out the House of Mouse for that top spot this year.
Film and Television 