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Holiday movies and football lift TV viewing in December: Nielsen
MUMBAI: December proved one thing beyond doubt: nothing pulls audiences together quite like festive favourites and a bit of football. Nielsen’s December 2025 Media Distributor Gauge shows a buoyant holiday season for Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Hallmark, Netflix and Amazon, all riding a seasonal cocktail of sport, nostalgia and big-ticket originals.
Disney emerged as the month’s biggest mover, notching the highest multiplatform growth and holding firm at number two overall. Viewing rose 4 per cent, taking its total share to 10.7 per cent. ESPN did much of the heavy lifting, clocking a 30 per cent jump thanks to Monday Night Football, an expanded College Football Playoffs schedule and College Gameday. On the cosier end of the spectrum, Freeform doubled its November viewing as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman worked their annual magic.
Warner Bros. Discovery also had a December to remember. TBS and TNT posted gains of 23 per cent and 24 per cent respectively, fuelled by college football and a healthy appetite for holiday films. A Christmas Story topped the charts on TBS, while HBO Max enjoyed a 10 per cent lift, helped by the original series It: Welcome To Derry and the evergreen appeal of The Big Bang Theory and Friends.
If Christmas movies were a competitive sport, Hallmark would have taken gold. The Hallmark Channel swept the top five cable movie telecasts in December, led by She’s Making A List, Single On The 25th and A Suite Holiday Romance, cementing its place as the season’s comfort viewing champion.
Streaming hit a historic high on Christmas Day itself. According to Nielsen’s December Gauge, audiences logged a record 55.1 billion viewing minutes, making it the most-streamed day ever. NFL games on Netflix and Prime Video were the main draw, delivering platform-best monthly shares for both services.
Netflix climbed to third place overall, boosted by its NFL Christmas Day doubleheader and the runaway success of Stranger Things, now the most-streamed original series ever. The result was a 10 per cent monthly viewing increase and a record total share of 9.0 per cent. Amazon followed closely, up 12 per cent to a 4.3 per cent share, driven by Thursday Night Football, a record-breaking Christmas Day NFL game and the return of Fallout.
Two platforms marked December milestones. Amazon and The Roku Channel both posted their highest-ever monthly shares, with Roku reaching 3.0 per cent. The Roku Channel’s longer-term growth is even more striking, up 45 per cent year on year and nearly triple its share compared with December 2023.
Not everyone shared the festive bounce. Broadcast networks dipped from November levels, reflecting a quieter sports calendar with no Thanksgiving NFL games, fewer college football fixtures and no World Series. Cable news channels also saw declines over the month.
The December 2025 measurement period ran from December 1 to December 28, following Nielsen’s broadcast calendar, which tracks viewing from Monday to Sunday.
In short, December belonged to touchdowns, tinsel and tried-and-tested favourites, a reminder that when the holidays roll around, viewers still love a big game and a familiar story.
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KPMG names Gary Wingrove as global chairman and CEO from October
Record Gmada bids signal rising demand as Rs 1,000 crore bet reshapes Tricity skyline
MUMBAI: KPMG has chosen continuity with a forward tilt. The firm has announced that Gary Wingrove will take over as global chairman and CEO of KPMG International, beginning a four year term from 1 October 2026. Currently serving as global chief operating officer, Wingrove steps into the top role after being nominated by the global board and elected by the global council.
A KPMG veteran with over 25 years at the firm, Wingrove has been closely involved in shaping its recent trajectory. As global COO, he has helped drive the firm’s Collective Strategy, focusing on operational integration, global investments and the steady expansion of the KPMG Delivery Network. He has also been at the forefront of KPMG’s digital push, including the rollout of AI enabled solutions across its global operations.
Before his global role, Wingrove served as CEO of KPMG Australia for nearly a decade, where he led a period of strong growth, almost doubling revenue, profitability and headcount while steering a cultural reset.
He succeeds Bill Thomas, who has led KPMG since 2017 and will work alongside Wingrove over the next six months to ensure a smooth transition.
Thomas leaves behind a firm that looks markedly different from when he took charge. Under his leadership, KPMG’s global revenues have risen by 55 per cent, and its workforce has expanded to more than 276,000 people. He also unified the network of member firms under the Collective Strategy, aligning priorities and strengthening governance.
His tenure saw heavy investment in technology and partnerships, with alliances spanning Microsoft, Google Cloud, SAP, Oracle and ServiceNow. These collaborations, along with platforms like KPMG Clara, have helped the firm scale its AI-led offerings and sharpen its competitive edge.
Beyond growth, Thomas also pushed improvements in audit quality and sustainability. Initiatives such as a multiyear global sustainability strategy and the Our Impact Plan have aimed to embed long term thinking into the firm’s operations and client services.
For Wingrove, the brief is clear but evolving. He has signalled a focus on agility, deep expertise and technology driven solutions as clients navigate an increasingly complex business landscape. He also emphasised KPMG’s identity as a people first organisation, supported by technology and unified through its global network.
The timing of the leadership change comes as KPMG continues to grow, reporting a 5.1 per cent rise in global revenue in FY25, with gains across tax and legal, audit and advisory services. Growth was recorded across all regions, despite a challenging macro environment.
As Wingrove prepares to take charge, the firm appears set on a familiar path with a sharper digital edge. Same playbook, perhaps, but with a renewed focus on speed, scale and smarter solutions.
