Netflix breaks into top 3 media distributors for first time

Netflix reached a significant milestone in June 2025, breaking into the top three media distributors for the first time according to Nielsen's Media Distributor Gauge report announced on July 22, 2025. The streaming platform posted the largest monthly share increase across all media companies, adding 0.8 percentage points from May to represent 8.3% of June's total television usage and its largest share since January 2025.

According to Nielsen's The Gauge report, while time spent watching streaming content in June increased over 5% compared to May, Netflix viewership surged 13.5% over the same period. Netflix viewing was powered by a packed slate of fresh content, as well as the annual summer increase in streaming-heavy viewers aged 6-17.

YouTube maintains streaming leadership

YouTube also received a boost from school-aged audiences in June and remained atop the Media Distributor Gauge rankings for a fifth consecutive month. The platform notched a 6% monthly viewing increase over May and represented 12.8% of total television 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.

The seasonal summer viewing trends, coupled with a lack of sports and new content, resulted in similar impacts across the multiplatform companies this month. Disney represented 10.0% of total television viewing in June and held onto its second ranking among media distributors. ABC affiliates notably accounted for the top 33 broadcast telecasts in June, driven largely by the NBA Finals and ABC World News Tonight.

NBCU posted the fourth-largest total among media companies with 7.8% of television viewing. Led by a 4.4-billion-minute month for its reality-dating series Love Island USA, Peacock notched a 13.4% monthly viewing increase in June and was the second-largest contributor across NBCU's stable this month behind its NBC affiliates. NBCU's viewership total was up slightly overall compared to May, although it gave up some share this month with a 0.2 percentage point decline.

Advertising implications for marketing professionals

The breakthrough performance marks a pivotal moment for Netflix's advertising business, which the company aims to double in 2025 following its successful transition to programmatic advertising partnerships. Netflix's surge was driven by highly successful original content, with "Ginny & Georgia" leading as the most-streamed title of the month at 8.7 billion viewing minutes.

Netflix's expanding programmatic advertising capabilities through partnerships with Yahoo DSP, The Trade Desk, and Google DV360 creates substantial opportunities for reaching engaged audiences during peak viewing periods. The concentration of viewing among younger demographics during summer months particularly benefits advertisers targeting back-to-school campaigns and youth-oriented products.

Netflix's ability to capture 32% growth among 6-17 year-olds while maintaining broad appeal across all demographics positions the platform as increasingly valuable for diverse advertising strategies. The platform's combination of global reach and proprietary technology infrastructure enables competitive positioning against established television networks.

Technical measurement and data context

The June 2025 interval included dates from May 26, 2025 through June 29, 2025. Nielsen reporting follows the broadcast calendar with measurement weeks that run Monday through Sunday. The Gauge is Nielsen's monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs through a television screen, providing the industry with a holistic look at what audiences are watching.

The Media Distributor Gauge was expanded in April 2024 to reflect total viewing by media distributor across broadcast, cable and streaming categories. The methodology provides comprehensive measurement across viewing platforms, enabling comparison between traditional and streaming media companies on a unified basis.

According to Nielsen's data, Netflix's surge was driven by highly successful original content performance across multiple titles. "Animal Kingdom" and "Blindspot" captured second and third positions with 5.71 billion and 5.69 billion viewing minutes respectively. The platform's content acquisition strategy proved equally effective alongside original programming.

Streaming market transformation accelerating

The performance data reflects broader streaming market transformation patterns documented throughout 2025. Streaming platforms collectively reached 46.0% market share, representing a 5.4% month-over-month increase and underlining the accelerating transformation of television consumption patterns.

Peacock secured the second-largest monthly increase among streaming platforms with 13.4% growth, driven primarily by its original series Love Island USA. The reality show garnered 4.4 billion viewing minutes, establishing itself as the fourth most-streamed title of June. NBCU's streaming service benefited from strong original content performance while maintaining its position within the broader NBCU portfolio.

The concentration of summer viewing among school-aged demographics created favorable conditions for streaming platforms. Viewing from 6-17 year-olds jumped 32% for Netflix and 37% for Peacock versus May, indicating strong appeal of their content libraries to younger audiences during vacation periods. This demographic allocated two-thirds (66%) of their television time to streaming platforms, demonstrating pronounced preference for on-demand content.

Industry context and competitive positioning

Netflix's programmatic advertising capabilities align with broader industry trends toward automated media buying. Approximately 72% of marketers plan to increase programmatic investment in 2025, supporting Netflix's technology-focused advertising approach. The company's measurement and targeting capabilities continue developing through strategic partnerships with advertising technology providers.

Netflix recently launched advanced targeting tools in EMEA markets including mood-based audience segmentation, demonstrating sophisticated advertising product development that traditional television cannot match. The platform's first-party data integration allows for sophisticated audience targeting capabilities that leverage the streaming platform's unique viewer insights.

The competitive landscape for streaming advertising has intensified as platforms race to capture advertiser budgets migrating from traditional television. Industry forecasts project streaming television advertising to surge 19.3% globally in 2025 while linear television faces 3.4% decline, creating favorable conditions for Netflix's advertising growth objectives.

YouTube's continued dominance in the Media Distributor Gauge reflects the platform's position across multiple content formats and viewing environments. YouTube now serves over one billion hours of content daily on television screens, with sports content seeing 30% year-over-year increase in connected television viewing.

The "Other" category, encompassing video game console usage and set-top box usage, experienced a 14% overall increase versus May. Among 6-17 year-olds, this category surged 41%, reflecting increased gaming and alternative entertainment consumption during vacation periods. Broadcast and cable television collectively lost market share despite several bright spots in live programming and news content.

Timeline

• November 2022 - Netflix launched its ad-supported tier, marking fundamental shift in business model
• May 2024 - Netflix expanded programmatic advertising partnerships with The Trade Desk, Google DV360, and Magnite
• April 2024- Nielsen expanded The Gauge to include Media Distributor Gauge reflecting total viewing by media distributor
• February 2025 - Campaign Manager 360 added Netflix ads integration and television measurement tools
• April 2025 - Netflix launched proprietary ad platform Netflix Ads Suite in United States
• June 2025 - Netflix added Yahoo DSP as fourth global programmatic advertising partner
• July 2025 - Netflix declared ads business will roughly double as upfront deals close
• July 15, 2025 - Netflix commands 8.3% of total TV as streaming hits 46% market share according to Nielsen
• July 22, 2025 - Nielsen announced June 2025 Media Distributor Gauge results showing Netflix's breakthrough performance

Key Terms Explained

Programmatic Advertising: Automated technology that enables advertisers to purchase digital ad inventory in real-time through sophisticated algorithms and data analysis. Netflix's expansion into programmatic partnerships with The Trade Desk, Google DV360, Yahoo DSP, and Magnite allows advertisers to leverage familiar platforms to manage their Netflix ad campaigns alongside other digital advertising efforts. This approach reduces manual campaign management while enabling precise audience targeting across Netflix's global streaming platform through integration with major advertising technology providers.

Connected TV (CTV): Television content delivered through internet connections rather than traditional broadcast or cable systems, encompassing smart TVs, streaming devices, and gaming consoles. Netflix's dominance in the CTV space, capturing 8.3% of total television viewing time, positions the platform as valuable inventory for advertisers seeking to reach cord-cutting audiences who have migrated from traditional linear television to on-demand streaming consumption patterns.

First-Party Data: Information collected directly from customers through their interactions with a platform, including viewing habits, search queries, device usage patterns, and demographic details. Netflix's ability to leverage first-party data for advertising targeting provides significant advantages over third-party data sources, enabling precise audience segmentation and personalized advertising experiences while maintaining greater control over data privacy and compliance requirements.

Media Distributor Gauge: Nielsen's comprehensive measurement methodology that reflects total viewing by media distributor across broadcast, cable, and streaming categories. This system allows advertisers to view, organize, and analyze reach data across platforms, providing unified measurement across previously siloed media channels and enabling comparison between traditional and streaming media companies on a standardized basis.

Streaming Share: The percentage of total television viewing time captured by streaming platforms compared to traditional broadcast and cable television. Netflix's 8.3% individual streaming share within the broader 46% streaming category demonstrates the platform's market leadership position, providing advertisers with audience reach metrics essential for media planning and budget allocation decisions across traditional and digital video advertising channels.

Cross-Media Measurement: Analytics methodology that tracks campaign performance across multiple advertising channels and platforms simultaneously. This approach enables marketers to understand how audiences interact with advertisements across television, digital, mobile, and streaming environments. Advanced cross-media measurement helps optimize budget allocation and creative strategies by identifying which platform combinations deliver the highest return on advertising investment.

Ad-Supported Tier: A subscription pricing model that offers content at reduced cost in exchange for displaying advertisements during viewing sessions. Netflix's ad-supported tier now represents 55% of new subscriber acquisitions in available markets, demonstrating consumer acceptance of advertising-funded content while providing the platform with dual revenue streams from both subscription fees and advertising sales, fundamentally changing Netflix's business model.

Premium CPMs: Cost-per-mille pricing that reflects the high-quality viewing environment and engaged audience characteristics of streaming platforms. Industry reports suggest Netflix commands premium CPMs in the $25-40 range, significantly higher than traditional television advertising rates, reflecting the platform's limited ad inventory of approximately 4 minutes per hour compared to traditional TV's 16-20 minutes, creating a less cluttered environment that potentially delivers higher attention metrics.

Audience Targeting: The practice of identifying and reaching specific demographic, behavioral, or interest-based segments within a platform's total audience. Netflix's advanced targeting capabilities include mood-based audience segmentation, geographic targeting to postal code level, content-level precision through curated title selection, and first-party audience onboarding that enables advertisers to match customer data against Netflix's viewer segments for enhanced campaign precision.

Content Amortization: The accounting process of spreading content production costs over the expected revenue-generating lifespan of shows and movies. Netflix's content amortization patterns influence operating margins and cash flow timing, with the company's strategy of creating globally appealing content enabling longer amortization periods and improved return on investment through international distribution and extended viewing lifecycles across multiple markets.

Summary

Who: Netflix broke into the top three media distributors for the first time, while YouTube maintained its leadership position with the largest lead to date.

What: Netflix posted the largest monthly increase among media companies, adding 0.8 percentage points to reach 8.3% of total television viewing share, while YouTube achieved 12.8% with a 2.8-point lead over Disney.

When: June 2025 measurement period (May 26 through June 29, 2025) with results announced by Nielsen on July 22, 2025.

Where: United States television market across broadcast, cable, streaming, and other viewing platforms measured through Nielsen's comprehensive methodology.

Why: Strong content performance led by "Ginny & Georgia," "Animal Kingdom," "Blindspot," and seasonal viewing increases among school-aged demographics drove Netflix's growth, while the platform's expanding advertising capabilities create new revenue opportunities.