Football And Younger Viewers Drive Ad Supported TV Viewing To 2025 High, Nielsen’s Q4 2025 Ad Supported Gauge Finds

During this period, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (45.6%), followed by broadcast (29.6%) and cable (24.8%)

Ad supported TV viewing rose 9% from the previous quarter

New York - February 4, 2026 - Ad supported television represented 74.2% of overall TV viewing in the fourth quarter 2025, according to Nielsen's newly released Q4 Ad Supported Gauge.

This percentage marked the highest the medium hit throughout all of 2025.
Compared to Q3 2025, ad supported viewing was also up 9%, outpacing the 7% increase in total TV viewing, as football and young adults helped drive upticks.

Audiences spent 45.6% of their ad supported viewing time with streaming, 29.6% with broadcast, and 24.8% with cable. Broadcast experienced the largest quarterly jump of any ad supported viewing category throughout all of 2025 in Q4, capturing a 22% increase and adding 3.2 share points. Football was a major driver for broadcast, as sports viewing surged by 135%, almost doubling its Q3 share of the category to 34% .

Overall, the ad supported broadcast category saw its biggest increase among 25-34 year olds (up 41%), but the key demographic groups of 18-49 and 25-54 also saw increases of 31% and 29%, respectively.

Now in its fourth edition, Nielsen's Ad Supported Gauge, an extension of The Gauge™, provides the industry with the broadest view of the portion of television that delivers advertising across broadcast, cable and streaming. These new insights provide advertisers and agencies with an essential, up-to-date view of opportunities to connect with consumers across ad-supported platforms.

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