Streaming dominates TV as cable hits six month high in April: Nielsen

MUMBAI: The remote may be changing hands, but viewers are still chasing the biggest stories whether on the pitch, the fairway or the sofa. Streaming continued to command television viewing in April 2026, while sports and broadcast dramas fuelled audience engagement and cable recorded its strongest monthly share in six months, according to the latest editions of Nielsen’s The Gauge and Media Distributor Gauge reports.

Overall viewing patterns remained largely in line with seasonal trends, shaped by the conclusion of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Masters Tournament, the start of the NBA Playoffs and sustained interest in hit broadcast drama series.

Cable emerged as the only major viewing category to gain share during the month, rising 0.2 percentage points to account for 21.6 per cent of total television viewing, its highest level in the past six months. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship on 6 April, broadcast across TBS, TNT and TruTV, became cable’s biggest telecast of the month. Sports contributed 9 per cent of cable viewing, while cable news remained the dominant genre, accounting for 29 per cent of total cable consumption.

Streaming retained its commanding lead with 47.6 per cent of total TV watch time, supported by gains across multiple platforms. Youtube strengthened its leadership among media distributors, increasing its share by 0.2 percentage points to 13.4 per cent of all television viewing.

Amazon Prime Video expanded its share to 4.2 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points, driven by coverage of 22 NBA games, including the Play-In Tournament and opening NBA Playoff fixtures, alongside the premiere of the final season of The Boys. Including Twitch, Amazon’s overall media distributor share reached 4.3 per cent, an increase of 0.5 percentage points.

Ad-supported streaming platform Tubi also achieved a milestone, with viewership rising 3 per cent to deliver a record 2.3 per cent share of total TV viewing. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming services increased to 1.5 per cent, helped by The Pitt on HBO Max, which became April’s most-watched streaming title with 4.5 billion viewing minutes.

Broadcast television represented 19.9 per cent of total TV viewing during the month. Although sports accounted for a relatively modest 12 per cent of broadcast consumption compared with autumn levels, the final round of the Masters Tournament on CBS emerged as April’s most-watched broadcast programme. CBS also delivered the next two highest-rated telecasts through its drama series Tracker and Marshals.

Drama remained broadcast television’s strongest genre, accounting for 28 per cent of viewing, with ABC’s High Potential also contributing to audience growth.

Among media companies, Paramount climbed to fourth place with a 7.9 per cent share of total TV viewing, while Disney retained second position with 10.3 per cent.

The Nielsen study covered the period from 30 March to 26 April 2026 and reflects viewing across both ad-supported and subscription platforms. The latest figures underscore how streaming continues to reshape television consumption, while premium live sport and scripted drama remain powerful audience magnets across every screen.