TV viewing reaches 12-month high in January 2026, Nielsen reports

MUMBAI: When winter chills hit and big games kick off, viewers didn’t just stay in, they stayed glued. Nielsen’s latest Gauge report shows total TV and streaming consumption climbed to a 12-month peak in January 2026, up 3.7 per cent from December, driven by a potent mix of high-stakes sports, returning broadcast dramas and colder weather keeping people indoors.

Cable led the charge with the biggest monthly jump, capturing 21.2 per cent of total TV usage (up 1.0 percentage point). Cable sports viewing exploded 49 per cent over December, fuelled by ESPN’s coverage of the College Football Playoffs quarterfinals, semifinals and championship, included sending ESPN’s viewing soaring 82 per cent. Cable news also rode an active news cycle, rising 13 per cent, with Fox News Channel up 17 per cent and CNN jumping 29 per cent. Together, ESPN and FOX News each claimed 2.2 per cent of total TV usage, accounting for 21 per cent of January’s cable viewing.

Broadcast held strong at 21.5 per cent of TV (up 4.2 per cent month-on-month), anchored by NFL dominance, the top 15 broadcast telecasts were all football games, giving sports 30 per cent of the category. Dramas bounced back 24 per cent, with ABC’s High Potential emerging as the month’s most-watched drama. Broadcast news gained 10 per cent, led by ABC World News Tonight.

Streaming proved its staying power after December’s record highs, growing 2.7 per cent month-on-month and commanding 47.0 per cent of total TV usage. Netflix mirrored the category’s resilience with a steady 1 per cent increase to 8.8 per cent of TV, holding the top streaming programme for a second month as Stranger Things racked up 15.4 billion viewing minutes. Peacock jumped 10 per cent to 1.8 per cent of TV, boosted by the new season of The Traitors and NFL simulcasts on NBC most noticeably on 18 January during the L.A. Rams vs Chicago Bears Divisional Playoff, which drove a 78 per cent spike over its monthly average.

Free ad-supported platforms kept pace, Tubi rose 6 per cent to 2.1 per cent of TV, while The Roku Channel gained 5 per cent to hold its platform-high 3.0 per cent share for a second straight month.

The January data covers four weeks from 29 December 2025 to 25 January 2026, following Nielsen’s Monday-start broadcast calendar. In a media landscape where every screen fights for eyes, January proved that when sports roar and dramas return, the living room still wins, even if the remote is within arm’s reach of the streaming button.