The growth of free ad-supported streaming services is continuing. As Americans look for ways to cut back, they are increasingly turning to free streaming services like Pluto TV, Tubi, and The Roku Channel.
According to the report from Nielsen, Tubi had 1.3 percent of all streaming traffic, The Roku Channel had 1.1 percent, and Pluto TV had 0.9 percent of all streaming traffic. Combined these three services make up 3.3% of all viewing more than Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+, or Max. Pluto TV was the first free ad-supported streaming service to be ranked in the top 10 by Nielsen.
Here Are The Top 10 Streaming Services:
YouTube: 9.1 percent
Netflix: 8.2 percent
Hulu: 3.6 percent
Prime Video: 3.4 percent
Disney+: 2 percent
Max: 1.3 percent
Tubi: 1.3 percent
Peacock: 1.2 percent
Roku Channel: 1.1 percent
Paramount+: 1.1 percent
Pluto TV: 0.9 percent
So what is helping TV viewing grow? Sports is in short as sports is once again the main thing people watch live on TV.
“Streaming usage remained strong in August, but the return to school had an oversized effect on the 1.6% monthly dip in usage: Approximately 80% was due to decreased usage among viewers 2-17. Despite the drop in usage among kids, Disney+ had the third- and fourth-most watched titles: Bluey and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with 4.2 billion and 3.2 billion minutes, respectively. The top two titles, Suits and The Lincoln Lawyer, remained strong, but not strong enough to offset a 4.8% drop in usage on Netflix. Peacock, which also carries Suits, was the biggest gainer, with usage rising 8.3% as a result of events like WWE SummerSlam, shared coverage of the NFL Hall of Fame Game and the success of The Super Mario Brothers Movie. While not included in the streaming category, linear streaming represented 5.1% of TV usage in August (please refer to the methodology for more information).” Nielsen said in their report.
Slowly Americans are finding the best new shows are online not on cable TV. With the current writers strike that may never be more true than this fall as many networks look at reruns, reality TV, and airing shows from their streaming services to fill the void.