NEW YORK—Fueled by football season, ad supported TV viewing in Q3 peaked in September, representing 74.7% of overall TV viewership in that month, per Nielsen’s new Q3 2025 Ad Supported Gauge.
Across the full quarter (06/30/2025 - 09/28/2025), ad supported TV accounted for 72.9% of overall TV viewing, with streaming capturing 46.4% of the ad-supported viewing total, followed by cable (27.2%) and broadcast (26.4%).
The data, Nielsen reported, shows that similar to overall viewing, seasonality can impact the ad supported share of that total. For example, July marked one of the strongest months of the year for streaming consumption due to kids and teens being on summer vacation and a lighter month for ad supported viewing, as streaming offers a wider variety of ad-free options. September, meanwhile, is when the return of live sports – namely football – helps broadcast roar back, increasing the overall share of ad supported viewing, the researchers said.
Those trends were reflected in the data. After peaking in July with 48% of the overall ad supported pie, streaming lost 3.6 share points, representing 44.4% during the September interval, while broadcast gained 4.4 share points, jumping to 29.1% thanks to a strong sports slate. Cable remained fairly consistent over this period.
Another important data point, Nielsen reported was that when looking at adults 18 and over, the ad supported share of TV viewing increases to over three-quarters of television (75.1%) and drops streaming back four share points to 42.4%. These four share points are equally distributed between broadcast and cable, bumping each up by two to 28.4% and 29.2%, respectively.
