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Tubi & The Roku Channel Lead the Growth of Streaming Services in September 2023
• In September 2023, free streaming services such as Tubi and The Roku Channel led the growth of streaming despite overall viewership declining.
• Among the top 11 streaming services, according to Nielsen’s report, four saw substantial growth, with Amazon leading the way due to its NFL Football coverage and The Wheel of Time series.
• Tubi captured 1.3% of all streaming traffic, The Roku Channel had 1.1%, and Pluto TV reached the top 10 rankings with 0.8%.
• Broadcast TV experienced a surge in viewership due to sports programming, primarily associated with football games in the fall season.
Free streaming services are gaining popularity among cord-cutters seeking affordable options. According to Nielsen’s monthly rankings, Tubi, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel are among the top 11 most popular streaming services in September 2023. This coincides with cable TV viewership dropping below 30% of overall TV viewing.
In September 2023, streaming saw a 1.7% decline due to the start of school and fall activities. However, three services stood out amidst this drop – Amazon, led by its NFL Football coverage, along with the free services Tubi and The Roku Channel, experienced growth.
While streaming viewing has declined for two consecutive months, the Suits phenomenon amassed over 8 billion minutes of viewing in September. Prime Video also benefitted from sports programming, specifically NFL Thursday Night Football and the second season of The Wheel of Time, resulting in a 7.5% increase in viewership. Tubi and The Roku Channel were the other two services to see growth in September. As broadcast viewing increased, linear streaming reached its highest point of 5.7% of TV usage in 2023 thus far.
Nielsen’s report reveals that Tubi captured 1.3% of all streaming traffic, The Roku Channel had 1.1%, and Pluto TV had 0.8%. As the first free ad-supported streaming service, Pluto TV made it to the top 10 rankings by Nielsen.
Here are the top 10 streaming services according to the report:
1. YouTube: 9.0%
2. Netflix: 7.8%
3. Hulu: 3.6%
4. Prime Video: 3.6%
5. Disney+: 1.9%
6. Max: 1.2%
7. Tubi: 1.3%
8. Peacock: 1.1%
9. Roku Channel: 1.1%
10. Paramount+: 1.0%
11. Pluto TV: 0.8%
The rise in TV viewing can be attributed to the popularity of sports, which remains a significant draw for live TV. With the start of fall football, broadcast TV airing these games experienced a surge in viewership.