With Olympics and ‘Love Island’ Boosts, Peacock Viewership Increased 33% in July

As a seasoned film enthusiast who’s seen more movies than I can count on my fingers and toes, it’s always fascinating to witness the ebb and flow of the streaming landscape. The rise of Peacock in July, with its 33% viewership increase, is a testament to the power of sports (specifically the Paris Olympics) and reality TV shows like “Love Island USA.” It’s intriguing to note that this growth puts Peacock at its second-best share ever, just behind January of this year.


As a dedicated viewer myself, I’m thrilled to share that according to Nielsen, there was a staggering 33% increase in peacock’s audience in July compared to June. This surge can largely be attributed to two exciting events: the commencement of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the premiere of Season 6 of “Love Island USA.” It’s an amazing time to be a fan!

Based on The Gauge’s monthly analysis by Nielsen, Peacock made up 1.5% of all television viewership in July. This is a significant rise compared to June, where it held a 1.2% share, and represents its second-highest market share yet, following the 1.6% it attained in January this year. Additionally, NBC’s broadcast of the Olympics was responsible for all five of the most-watched programs and seven out of the top ten telecasts of the month, with a peak audience of 19 million viewers on July 28th.

With Olympics and ‘Love Island’ Boosts, Peacock Viewership Increased 33% in July

The emergence of these bumps aligns with a surge in streaming program consumption, as July broke records for the top four weeks of streaming ever recorded by Nielsen. Streaming accounted for 41.4% of total television viewing compared to 40.3% in the previous month, and this increase was also reflected in overall usage, which rose by 2.3%. The share of traditional broadcast television declined slightly from 20.5% to 20.3%, but it still represented a 5% increase over its July 2023 figures, and on a weekly basis, the Olympics contributed to a 22% rise in broadcast viewing during the final week of July.

In The Gauge, only three days of Olympic coverage have been considered so far. This suggests that the trends observed during those days might continue into the month of August.

In July, Peacock led the way in viewer growth, while Amazon Prime Video saw a 12% increase that accounted for approximately 3.4% of overall TV consumption. This surge in viewership for Amazon can be attributed to “The Boys,” which ranked as the third most-watched program of the month with 4.2 billion minutes viewed, trailing behind “House of the Dragon” on Max (with 4.7 billion minutes) and “Bluey” on Disney+ (with 4.3 billion minutes). Notably, YouTube became the first streaming platform to surpass the 10% mark in terms of TV usage share.

In July, cable television viewing stayed fairly similar to June, but its overall percentage share dipped slightly from 27.2% to 26.7%, owing to a rise in both broadcasting and streaming. A significant portion of this category’s viewership was attributed to the Republican National Convention, with cable news networks experiencing a surge of 23% compared to June and an impressive 52% increase compared to July of the previous year. Coverage of the RNC on Fox News Channel accounted for 24 out of the top 25 most-watched cable broadcasts during the month.

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2024-08-20 15:16