Super Bowl Bolsters Streaming to 43.5% Share of TV Viewing in February
That milestone is thanks in large part to the 127.7 million viewers who watched the big game via Fox, and the simulcast on free ad-supported platform Tubi that accounted for a third of streaming usage.
Viewers that watched Tubi during the Super Bowl were 38% more likely to be in the 18 to 34 age range than the total game average and also skewed slightly female. Tubi's February usage was up 17% over January to finish with 2% of total TV watch-time, its largest share since July 2024.
Overall, TV viewing on Feb. 9 trailed the all time leader, Super Bowl Sunday 2024, by just 500 million minutes.
Despite Tubi's gains, YouTube still reigned supreme with the largest share of TV viewing for the month at 11.6%, a 2.5% increase versus the previous month. Nearly 27% of time spent streaming in February was dedicated to watching YouTube.
Following behind was Netflix at 8.2%, Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ at 4.8% on an aggregated basis, Prime Video at 3.5% and the Roku Channel at 2.1%. Trailing behind Tubi was Peacock with a share of 1.5%, Paramount+ with 1.3%, Max with 1.2% and Pluto TV with 1%.
Overall, the streaming category added 0.9 share points month-over-month for a total share of 43.5%, its largest to date. By comparison, broadcast (21.2%) and cable (23.2%) combined to account for 44.4% of TV in February.
Netflix had the top streaming program for the month with 'The Night Agent' capturing 6 billion viewing minutes, followed by 'Bluey' on Disney+ with 4.2 billion minutes.
Among cable viewing, the championship game in the inaugural NHL 4 Nations face-off drew the category's largest audience for the month with 9.3 million viewers on ESPN. FOX News Channel represented the next 13 top cable telecasts, as cable news gained 8% over January to represent 27% of all cable viewing in February.
On broadcast, the Super Bowl and its pregame and postgame programs on Fox were followed by NBC's Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special with 16.5 million viewers, and The Grammys on CBS with 16.2 million viewers. Broadcast dramas, which accounted for the largest share of broadcast viewing in February (27%), were up 15% versus last month and led by CBS' 'Tracker' (10.6 million) and 'Matlock' (9.4 million).
Despite strong showings by the Super Bowl and the other top telecasts, total broadcast viewing fell by 10% to account for 21.2% of TV and cable declined 9% and totaled 23.2% of TV. Sports events viewership fell 54% on broadcast and 42% on cable versus January.
The post Super Bowl Bolsters Streaming to 43.5% Share of TV Viewing in February appeared first on TheWrap.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Pair of Oregon Ducks land inside first round of latest ESPN 2026 mock draft
There have been countless NFL teams in recent years who have cracked the method to drafting: selecting players from powerhouses works more often than not. The Oregon Ducks have become one of these teams that pro organizations poach from, having 10 players drafted just this year. Now considered among college football's elitists, Oregon constantly replenishes their talent stockpile, so they'll have a number of stars taken in the 2026 draft as well. ESPN's Field Yates recently concocted a preseason mock draft for next year, where he has the Ducks having two players selected in the first round. Yates predicts that the Green Bay Packers will select Matayo Uiagalelei with the No. 19 pick. The five-star edge rusher made a drastic improvement last year compared to his rookie season thanks to more involvement and some impressive development. 'Uiagalelei is hard to miss on tape, thanks to a massive 6-foot-5, 272-pound frame. He aligns from a variety of spots along the defensive front and causes havoc from all of them, with 10.5 sacks in 2024. He wins with power and relentlessness, said Yates.' One of the most dominant defenders in the nation, Uiagalelei has all the tools to post another dominant season. If he continues developing at the rate he's going, he could fly even further up draft boards. The other Duck projected to go in the first round next year is their new offensive tackle, Isaiah World. Yates has the Nevada transfer falling to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 30th overall pick. The reigning AFC Champions have made a concerted effort over the last few years to keep Patrick Mahomes upright and the massive Oregon tackle would do just that. 'He brings premier length at 6-foot-8 and moves very well -- especially as a pass protector. World allowed zero sacks last season, but this year will be an elevated test,' said Yates After Mahomes was mauled in the Super Bowl, patching up their problematics left tackle position with one of the largest men in football history is probably Kansas City's best bet. Contact/Follow@Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page onFacebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
The Hill
25 minutes ago
- The Hill
Tuberville rips NFL over male cheerleaders: ‘What the hell are you doing?'
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) on Tuesday criticized the NFL and the Minnesota Vikings over their inclusion of male cheerleaders. The organization earlier this month introduced its cheerleading roster for the upcoming 2025 NFL season, including Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn, the team's two male cheerleaders, in an Instagram video. 'The next generation of cheer has arrived!' the Vikings wrote on Aug. 9. The post drew backlash online, and Shiek and Conn for weeks have faced derogatory slurs and hateful comments as the center of debates over male cheerleaders and masculinity. 'I would like to ask the ownership of the NFL and the commissioner, what the hell are you doing?' Tuberville said on an episode of the podcast 'Hot Mic,' aired by the conservative sports news site OutKick. 'If you're going to be woke and you're going to try to, you know, take the men out of men's sports is what they're doing … then you're going to have a huge problem.' 'At the end of the day, I hope to God it doesn't come south to Atlanta, or to Texas, or to Dallas or to some of our NFL teams, because you'll lose it. I mean, people will actually quit buying tickets and going,' added Tuberville, a former college football coach who announced in May that he would leave the Senate after four years to run for governor of Alabama. 'This is the narrative they're trying to push out — this is not just a couple of people being men cheerleaders. It is about pushing a narrative that you want to put gender into sports and let everybody know that we're trying to show that, 'Hey, we're going to take the masculinity out of it a little bit,' and that's not going to happen in the South,' he said. Male dancers have been a part of NFL organizations since 2018, when Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies joined the Los Angeles Rams' 40-person squad. They made NFL history in 2019 as the first men to perform on the sidelines of a Super Bowl game, when the Rams played the New England Patriots in Atlanta. In an op-ed published Tuesday by The Guardian, former Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end RK Russell wrote that complaints about male cheerleaders 'are even more baseless than the Monday Morning Quarterbacks.' 'This isn't about performance at all. It's about presence. It's about the mere existence and visibility of men on NFL cheer squads who don't conform to the rigid, outdated ideas of masculinity that so many use sport, and football in particular, to defend,' wrote Russell, who came out publicly as bisexual to ESPN in 2019. 'The outrage over male cheerleaders isn't about sports. It's about control: over masculinity, over image, and over who gets to be seen and celebrated in public spaces or on the global stage of the NFL.' A Minnesota Vikings spokesperson did not immediately return The Hill's request for comment on Tuberville's comments or the broader backlash. The organization told NBC News last week that, 'While many fans may be seeing male cheerleaders for the first time at Vikings games, male cheerleaders have been part of previous Vikings teams and have long been associated with collegiate and professional cheerleading.' 'In 2025, approximately one third of NFL teams have male cheerleaders,' the team said. 'Every member of the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders program has an impressive dance background and went through the same rigorous audition process. Individuals were selected because of their talent, passion for dance and dedication to elevating the game day experience. We support all our cheerleaders and are proud of the role they play as ambassadors of the organization.' Responding to claims that some fans have canceled their season tickets over the team's inclusion of male cheerleaders, the Vikings told NBC News that no fans have done so. In a joint Instagram post on Saturday, Shiek and Conn appeared to respond to the controversy: 'wait…did someone say our name?' they captioned a photo in their Vikings cheer uniforms. A number of prominent Republican political leaders have also been cheerleaders: Former President George W. Bush cheered at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., serving as head cheerleader his senior year, and at Yale University. Former President Reagan was a cheerleader at Eureka College in the 1930s.
Forbes
27 minutes ago
- Forbes
Science Star Mark Rober Is The Latest YouTuber To Get A Netflix Deal
Netflix has announced it will develop an educational family competition show with content creator Mark Rober, its second deal in a year with a popular children's YouTuber, as the streamer leans into creating new family and kid-friendly content as a proven way to retain subscribers and boost engagement. Mark Rober on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Former NASA engineer and YouTube star Rober, ranked at No. 8 on Forbes' list of top-earning creators this year, will create and host a new competition series to debut next year combining entertainment and education, much like he aims to do on his social media accounts, where he boasts more than 76 million followers combined. Netflix did not attach a dollar amount to the deal, but it's the second the streamer has inked with a children's educational content creator after signing Ms. Rachel to produce exclusive episodes in January. That deal has paid off—"Ms. Rachel: Season 1' is inching up on a record for a Netflix show with the most weeks spent on its Top 10 list and is a prime example of how young children can be among the most important demographics for a streaming service. As viewers, young children are more likely to latch onto a show or movie and rack up viewing hours by watching repeatedly, as evidenced by "Ms. Rachel"—Netflix has only four episodes, but the season was the seventh most-watched on the streamer in the first half of the year with 162 million hours viewed. Children also hold tremendous sway over their parents' choice of streaming subscription, with a 2023 YouGov poll showing 49% consider what children's content is available on a platform before subscribing, almost equal to how many people weigh the platform's cost before signing up (50%). Kids' shows, especially those classified as 'dialogue-free' or 'low-dialogue," are also more likely to become international hits than their adult-oriented counterparts, media consultant Emily Horgan told the Los Angeles Times, and shows geared toward pre-school children, like 'Ms. Rachel' and 'CoComelon' on Netflix, have been particularly successful. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts : We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . Rober is estimated by Forbes to have made $25 million in the last year. Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Griffin-Accurso, is estimated to have made $23 million in the same period. Key Background Netflix launched its dedicated children's section in 2011 with acquired content from sources like PBS and Cartoon Network, then branched into original children's programming in 2013 with "Turbo FAST," an animated series based on the DreamWorks Animation film "Turbo.' Within two years, Netflix had made 14 original shows for kids and has only stepped up kids' content production each year since. "Ms. Rachel," "Peppa Pig" and "Gabby's Dollhouse" were among Netflix's most-watched titles in the first half of 2025, the streamer's data shows. Later this year, Netflix will also start streaming "Sesame Street." The streamer picked up the show after Warner Bros. Discovery said it wasn't renewing its deal with the long-running program, and both new and catalogue episodes will soon be available on Netflix. Netflix has found some of its biggest successes in adapting programming originally created for YouTube, by far the most popular platform for children. 'Cocomelon,' for instance, started as one of the world's most popular children's programs (its flagship YouTube channel has 193 million subscribers) before becoming a Netflix show in 2022. It was the second-most-watched program on Netflix in all of 2024, after 'Bridgerton.' Netflix acquired the streaming license to 'Blippi,' a YouTube channel aimed at toddlers and young children with 25 million followers, in 2022 and announced its 'Ms. Rachel' deal in January. The new Rober show, a name for which has not been announced, will premiere in 2026. What To Watch For More children's content from Netflix. "Barbie Mysteries" will release new episodes Aug. 28. "The Twits," a film based on Roald Dahl's 1980 children's novel of the same name, is set for release in October. The streamer will also be releasing three new Dr. Seuss animated series this fall: 'Red Fish, Blue Fish,' 'Horton!,' and 'The Sneetches.' Tangent Across all streamers in the first half of the year, children's programming accounted for a large piece of the pie, Nielsen data showed. The popular children's cartoon 'Bluey,' available on Disney+, was streamed for more than 25 billion minutes in the first half of 2025 as the most watched TV show in any category. "Spongebob Squarepants" also made the top-10 list of most popular shows. Six of the top nine most-streamed movies of the year so far are children's titles, and they accounted for nine of the top 20 overall. Further Reading Forbes Harry And Meghan Sign New Netflix Deal After All—But For Less Than Previous Mega-Deal By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs Forbes Netflix's Best New Kids Show Has High Audience Scores, Is Adorable By Paul Tassi Forbes Forbes Top Creators 2025 By Steven Bertoni
