The news: Several channels and platforms saw viewing hikes in August, largely driven by live sports, per Nielsen’s August 2025 Media Distributor Index.
- Fox and Disney led the pack among legacy and linear networks, with Fox growing 10% YoY to a 6.7% total day viewing share and Disney growing 2% to a 9.5% total share.
- YouTube showed continued growth, up 24% YoY to a 13.1% share, while Netflix grew 10% to an 8.7% share and Amazon grew 22% to a 3.9% share.
- NFL pre-season content and college football led to a 4% gain for ABC affiliates, a 14% gain for Fox affiliates, and 25% gain for ESPN.
- Paramount+ remained flat at 7.1%, while NBCUniversal saw a drastic downgrade, falling to a 7.6% share from 13.4% in August 2024.
- Warner Bros. Discovery also declined 16% to a 5.8% share.