Cable vs streaming viewing share in the latest Nielsen month we can cite is a category split of total U.S. TV time. In the July 2026 Gauge, released September 10, 2026, streaming was 49.0% of TV, broadcast was 19.5%, and cable was 18.7%. Streaming usage was up 3.4% versus June. Cable usage was down 2% on the month.
Those are shares of time spent watching television, including ad-supported and ad-free viewing. They are not a rate card, and they are not Nielsen's currency ratings for buying ads. The July interval was four weeks, from June 29, 2026 through July 26, 2026.
What Nielsen published for July 2026
July did not follow the usual summer dip. Nielsen said total TV usage rose 2.2% from June to July, close to the Olympics-driven bump in July 2024. The FIFA World Cup 2026 was still on the air in the early part of the interval, and streaming's usual summer lift continued.
Source: Nielsen, July 2026 reports of The Gauge and the Media Distributor Gauge, press release dated September 10, 2026. Nielsen did not print an "other" share in that release. Do not back into a fake official residual and then cite it as a Nielsen cell.
Broadcast held up because the World Cup was still on. Nielsen said broadcast viewing usually falls 4% to 5% in July. This year it rose about 1%. Cable lost sports hours as the tournament moved off cable networks. That is a programming story sitting on top of a longer shift, which is why one July print should not be the only month you keep.
May and June, from the primary releases
The Q2 page on this site stopped at April and, as of late July 2026, said April was the latest fully reported month. That was true when it was published. It is not true now. Three later primary releases fill in the summer:
June is the month that keeps the story honest. Streaming usage rose about 3% versus May, but total TV usage rose 3.1%, so streaming's share ticked down 0.1 point to 48.5% even while people streamed more. Broadcast hit 19.8%, its first June increase since The Gauge began in 2021, on World Cup matches and the NBA Finals. Cable fell to 19.5% as NBA and NHL playoff viewing left the cable schedule.
Read usage and share as a pair. A category can gain minutes and lose share if the rest of television gains more. July is the reverse picture for streaming: both usage and share rose.
How to read the category split
Nielsen builds The Gauge from television viewing in its national panel. Streaming comes from Streaming Meter homes inside that panel. Broadcast, cable, and total usage come from the broader TV panel. Figures are time-period shares for a broadcast month, on a Live+7 basis for linear content: live viewing plus playback within seven days.
A few rules that keep the chart from being misquoted:
The percentages describe TV time, not households or ad avails. A 49% streaming share does not mean 49% of homes have cut cable, and it does not mean 49% of TV ads run on streaming.
Ad-free viewing counts. Nielsen says The Gauge includes ad-supported and non-ad-supported viewing. A large streaming share still includes hours with no commercial pod.
Currency ratings are a different product. The Gauge is not the rating streamers and networks use to price advertising. Nielsen has said fall 2026 updates will bring currency enhancements into The Gauge and the Media Distributor Gauge. Until those land, do not treat a Gauge point as a rate change.
vMVPD apps are not "streaming" in this chart. Nielsen credits live broadcast and cable watched through apps like Sling or a cable app back to broadcast or cable. That rule has been in place since the February 2023 interval.
What this page does not claim
Service-level ranks (YouTube, Netflix, Tubi, and the rest) are a different article. The July release names some streamers and does not reprint a full service table. Tubi is a special case: Nielsen said it adjusted Tubi measurement parameters in June 2026 and is evaluating the impact. This page does not invent a July Tubi share, a July Netflix service share, or a July "other" percentage.
Distributor shares are also a different chart. FOX at 7.8% of TV in July, or NBCU-Versant at 9.2%, is the Media Distributor Gauge. Those figures mix broadcast, cable, and streaming inside one company. They are not cable's share and they are not a streaming app's share.
April 2026 comparisons on the older page (streaming 47.6%, cable 21.6%, broadcast 19.9%) stay on that URL. This page does not restate them as if they were July.
Where the April page still matters
Use the Q2 2026 cable vs streaming page when you need the April cross-section and the year-ago comparison that page already sourced. Use this page when you need May, June, and July 2026 category shares from the primary releases.
The older page also walked through cord-cutting household counts and CTV ad-spend projections. Those claims are not re-audited here. If a number is not in the table above, it is not a finding of this refresh.
What a local advertiser should do with the split
The useful part for a small business is narrower than the headline. People still watch a television. More of that time is in streaming apps than on the cable bundle. Cable still carries live sports and news, and a World Cup month moves the broadcast and cable lines around. None of that tells you the CPM you will pay, or which ZIP codes you should buy.
A practical reading:
Do not plan a year off one July. June showed streaming minutes up and streaming share slightly down. Keep at least the three-month table.
Buy geography you can serve. A national share includes markets where you do not work.
Pair the screen with search and social. Streaming time does not put a click on the television spot. People who saw you still look you up.
Measure the site, not the Gauge. Your delivery report and your own site visits are the flight. The Gauge is the context.
Adwave runs paid media on Meta, Google, TikTok, Reddit, web, and TV from one prepaid daily budget starting at $30/day, with local radius or ZIP targeting and a first-party site tracker. Individual signups typically get a $60 starter credit. Reddit and Google Search typically need a higher daily budget before they switch on. TikTok availability follows campaign budget and Customize settings. You approve ads before you spend. For a separate creative build, Wavemaker is the other product.
Platform CPMs, when you need them, stay on the TV advertising CPM by platform page. That table is still the 2024 Ad Age agency set. This viewing-share page does not update it.
FAQ
Is streaming ahead of cable in 2026?
Yes, on time spent. Nielsen's July 2026 Gauge puts streaming at 49.0% of U.S. TV time and cable at 18.7%. May was 48.6% streaming and 20.4% cable. June was 48.5% streaming and 19.5% cable. Broadcast was 19.2%, 19.8%, and 19.5% across those three months.
Did cable collapse in July?
Cable's share was 18.7% in July after 19.5% in June and 20.4% in May. Nielsen tied the July cable sports drop to fewer World Cup telecasts on cable (2, down from 31 in June) and a 27% decline in cable sports viewing. That is a steep sports month, reported beside a multi-year shift that was already underway in the April page.
Why did streaming share dip in June if usage rose?
Nielsen said streaming usage was up about 3% versus May, just under the 3.1% rise in total TV usage, so streaming's share fell 0.1 point to 48.5%. Share is a portion of a bigger pie. Minutes and share can move in different directions.
Are these the ratings used to price ads?
No. Nielsen says The Gauge and the Media Distributor Gauge reflect total television viewing, including ad-free viewing, and do not reflect currency TV ratings used in advertising sales. A fall 2026 methodology update is still pending.
Where is the latest service ranking?
This page owns the cable, broadcast, and streaming categories. It does not own a full app-by-app ranking. The April service table remains on the Q2 most-watched page. July's press release names YouTube, Peacock, and Disney's streaming properties, and it withholds a new Tubi share while measurement changes are reviewed.
