NEW YORK—While YouTube continues to attract the largest share of TV viewing, January 2026 data shows that Disney captured the largest month-over-month gain in Nielsen’s January 2026 Media Distributor Gauge report, a monthly view of total TV consumption aggregated by parent company.
The report also noted that in January television viewing reached a 12-month high, Disney added 1.2 share points and finished with 11.9% of total television viewing in January, nearly tying its Media Distributor Gauge best (12.0% in January 2025), and bringing it within 0.6 share points of YouTube’s 12.5% lead.
Disney’s momentum was primarily fueled by ESPN’s coverage of the College Football Playoffs and Championship games, which drove an 82% monthly viewing increase on the network and contributed nearly a full share point to Disney’s total.
Disney also got a boost from its ABC affiliates, with viewing up 10% among them on the strength of multiple NFL games, the Citrus Bowl, the return of broadcast dramas, and seasonal staples like "New Year’s Rockin’ Eve" and "The Rose Bowl Parade". ABC’s "High Potential" and "ABC World News Tonight" were notably the top broadcast programs in each of their respective genres in January.
Netflix represented 8.8% of TV usage in January and maintained the No. 3 rank among distributors. Netflix’s overall usage was up slightly in January (+1%), and its original series "Stranger Things" claimed the top streaming program for a second consecutive month.
NFL games carried on NBC, plus simulcasts on Peacock, were a key factor in the 5% overall increase to NBCU-Versant this month. Peacock also benefited from a new season of its original series "The Traitors". Additionally, Telemundo affiliates saw a 13% jump in viewership powered by the sports reality hit "Exatlón", bringing the network’s monthly share contribution to 0.7 points. Overall, NBCU-Versant represented 8.5% of TV viewership in January (+0.3 points vs. December).
Fox climbed to 7.4% of TV viewership in January (+0.4 share points). This growth was largely underpinned by a 17% jump in viewing on Fox News Channel, which accounted for more than half (+0.25 share points) of Fox’s monthly share increase.
Led by increases on FYI (+46%) and Lifetime (+14%), A&E’s combined viewership climbed 8% in January (+0.1 share point) and moved up one slot in the distributor rankings.
Nielsen noted that while Versant formally completed its spin-off of NBCUniversal cable networks in early January, advertising sales for both entities have been retained by NBCU. For this reason, and to preserve data trends and insights in these reports, Nielsen said that NBCU and Versant will be reported together in the Media Distributor Gauge. However, to further acknowledge the change, the companies’ respective shares will be included in the Media Distributor Gauge chart.
The January 2026 interval spanned four weeks, from 12/29/2025 through 01/25/2026. Nielsen reporting follows the broadcast calendar, with weekly intervals beginning on Monday.
