Linear TV Viewing Dropped Below 50% Of U.S. Television Usage For The First Time In July

July marked the first time that linear tv viewing has dropped below 50% of U.S. television usage over a month, according to Nielsen data.

At the same time, streaming services including Youtube, Netflix, Hulu, and others have hit a record-high tv usage of 38.7%. That makes streaming the largest individual category according to Nielsen’s metrics, which breaks tv usage down to streaming, broadcast tv, cable tv, and others, the latter accounting for unmeasured VOD, audio streaming, video gaming, and physical media like Blu-ray and DVD.

Animation proved to be a major contributor to the streaming category’s impressive showing, with Bluey ranking as the second-most-watched series in July. According to Nielsen, the Australian series was watched for around 5 billion minutes over the month.

Cocomelon was another strong contributor, locked into Nielsen’s top 10 list for streamed content for the entirety of the month. Animated films have also prominently featured in Nielsen’s top 10s for July, with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Nimona, Moana, Encanto, Captain Underpants: The First Epic, and The Boss Baby all making appearances.

While it’s fair to say that traditional linear tv viewing continues to trend in a downward direction, it’s likely to see a major bump in the coming months as autumn brings new seasons of popular series and the start of major sports leagues like the NFL and NBA.