YouTube has toppled both Disney, Netflix, and well, everybody else in the ratings game. Nielsen just released their ratings for July 2024 and YouTube has taken the lead in viewers, getting 10.4% of “all TV usage” for that month. Disney, which still leads for the first seven months of 2024, fell by one percentage point to second place, with 9.9%. YouTube’s crown-grab now makes it the first ever streaming service to do so. Children ages 2-17 accounted for almost 30% of viewers, which makes sense since many were home for summer break. Another factor could be the lack of new network programming, which made viewers seek out alternative sources for entertainment. Whatever reason(s) it was, YouTube came for the Mouse and it did not miss.
TV by the numbers: According to Nielsen’s latest calculations, YouTube accounted for 10.4 percent of all TV usage in July 2024. It surpassed reigning champion Disney, which fell from 10.8 percent in June 2024 to 9.9 percent in July. With the door open, YouTube became the first streaming service ever to finish first; believe it or not, Netflix still has a long way to go to catch up. Disney still leads 2024 overall with 11 percent of total TV viewing through seven recorded months.
Kids and their screens: For an explanation, look no further than your own child’s tablet. With school out for the summer, nearly 30 percent of July’s YouTube viewership came from kids aged 2 to 17. The same group accounted for 13 percent of TV viewership overall. Fellow parents, we all need to chill on screen time.
No new studio programming: School isn’t the only thing out of session for the summer months. With exceptions (especially in the reality TV space), studio programming tends to take a vacation in July and August. Why watch “Abbott Elementary” reruns when Blippi is still posting fresh content? (Bad example: we still highly recommend the repeats in this case.)
The Olympics didn’t count: Another thing to note is that Nielsen’s “July” is not all of July. Since the ratings-currency company calculates viewership on a weekly — not monthly — basis, its “July” captured July 1 to 28, 2024 and not the 29th, 30th, and 31st. That may sound nitpick-y to you, but it definitely does not to the third-place media company NBCUniversal. Nielsen’s July counted only three days of NBCU’s Paris Olympics, which dominated the final six days of real July. The events of July 29 to 31 will not be realized until Nielsen’s August report; we may crown yet another new champion then. With just three days of Paris Olympics coverage counted toward July, NBCUniversal’s share of TV usage jumped an entire percentage point from June. “TV usage” here includes streaming, which accounted for 41.4 percent of all TV viewing in the month, according to earlier Nielsen data.
Netflix just missed the podium but still beat out the RNC on Fox: Netflix (an 8.4 percent share) finished fourth in July, when the race for fifth was particularly tight. In unrounded data provided to IndieWire by Nielsen, Fox (7.44 percent) edged Paramount (7.36 percent) to make the top 5. The Fox News Channel-friendly Republican National Convention (July 15-18) can be thanked for that.
While I wasn’t expecting this news, I absolutely believe it, for all of those reasons like summer break, and then some. While my kids love some Disney shows like Bluey, we set up YouTube Kids last month, which only lets them do age-appropriate shows. They now prefer the larger selection it provides, like being able to watch Minecraft or Roblox videos or videos where they learn about how cars or weather events work. Even though their screen time is limited during the school week, YouTube Kids will likely be their first choice when they are allowed to watch it.
I think the biggest reason why YouTube pulled ahead last month, though, is because basic YouTube is still free while Disney and the rest of the streamers are continuing to raise subscription prices. We did a free trial of YouTubeTV and it was nice to have live TV options again for a little while. And even though Disney may take back the #1 spot once their new season of programming starts, I expect that YouTube stays competitive for a while. I know a lot of people in my age group that prefer to watch what content creators are putting out on YouTube over network TV shows. Plus, you know, it’s free.
photos are screenshots from YouTube/Miss Rachel, Unspeakable, Milo and Chip, Ryan’s World, DanTDM
