In July 2026, YouTube led US television streaming with 14.2% of viewing time, nearly doubling Netflix’s 7.8%. Free services like The Roku Channel (2.9%) and Tubi (2%) outperformed major paid platforms, including Peacock (2.6%), Prime Video (4.2%), and Disney’s suite of services (4.7%). Nielsen’s The Gauge tracks actual TV viewing time, not subscribers or app downloads.
Live YouTube TV viewing is categorized separately, ensuring accurate streaming share representation. Notably, Tubi surpassed Warner Bros. Discovery’s services (1.4%), which include HBO Max and discovery+. Peacock saw a 15% month-over-month increase, boosted by World Cup coverage and *Love Island USA*, which amassed 4.9 billion viewing minutes.
Both The Roku Channel and Tubi operate on ad-supported, free models, though Tubi lacks a paid tier while Roku offers optional third-party subscriptions. Fox owns Tubi and agreed to acquire Roku in a $22 billion deal, still pending as of October 19. YouTube also reported over 700 million hours of podcast viewing on living-room devices in October 2025, up from 400 million the prior year.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing