Netflix Creeping Up On Disney On The Nielsen Media Distributor Gauge Chart

Nielsen has released its latest “Gauge” data update for June 2025, which gives a broad overview of how Americans watch television, including linear and streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu.  

According to the latest Nielsen report, in June, YouTube maintained the leading share of total TV viewing, with Disney coming in second place with its content being shared among linear channels like ABC and streaming services like ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+.

However, Netflix continues to grow in dominance, as the streamer’s share of television viewing in June ranked in the top three among media companies for the first time in Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge report. Netflix posted the largest monthly share-increase across all media companies this month, adding 0.8 points from May to represent 8.3% of June’s TV usage total and its largest share of television since January 2025.

With the kids out of school in the United States, YouTube also received a boost from school-aged audiences in June and remained atop the Media Distributor Gauge rankings for a fifth consecutive month. YouTube also saw a 6% monthly viewing increase over May and represented 12.8% of TV usage, its largest share of television to date. With a 2.8-point lead over second-place Disney, this marks YouTube’s largest lead among media distributors to date.

Although not unexpected, the seasonal summer viewing trends, combined with a lack of sports and new content, resulted in similar impacts across the multi-platform companies this month. Disney represented 10.0% of total TV viewing in June and held onto its No. 2 ranking among media distributors, though it did drop off a little below. ABC affiliates notably accounted for the top 33 broadcast telecasts in June, primarily driven by the NBA Finals and ABC World News Tonight.

Netflix had a strong month of original programming in June, which is usually a time when Disney and the other major studios pull back their original programming from their schedules due to the summer.  With audience habits changing, Disney needs to keep up momentum with major new releases each week, and it’s clear that Disney is starting to use Netflix’s strategy of dropping a whole season at once to boost those viewing numbers as audiences prefer to binge-watch at their convenience.  

Roger’s Take: The monthly Gauge data from Nielsen is always a good indication of how the American audience is consuming its television.  Netflix and YouTube are continuing to build their dominance, which is why Disney needs to keep the pressure on so that it doesn’t get pushed down into third place.

What did you watch on TV in June?  Let me know on social media!