Driven by more people watching videos on their phones and choosing on demand content streaming now leads TV usage worldwide strongly. According to Nielsen's Gauge research, streaming made up 44.8 percent of total TV usage in May 2025. This is a huge 71 percent increase since 2021.
By June 2025 streaming's share reached about 46 percent of total TV time. It marked the first time it surpassed traditional TV. Big platforms like YouTube, Netflix and Disney+ are behind this growth, along with free ad-supported services such as Pluto TV, Roku Channel and Tubi. These leads more viewers in May 2025. In the UK, IPA TouchPoints 2025 shows that adults begin to spend more time on their phones than watching regular TV. In numbers it is 3 hours and 21 minutes a day on mobile compared to 3 hours and 16 minutes on TV.
Younger viewers spend even more time on their phones. This move to watching on multiple devices and this changing how companies plan their content. This is a new era where both subscription and ad-supported streaming shape how people watch video.