Historic Month of TV in Nielsen’s The Gauge: Broadcasting and Streaming Highlights

Audiences tuned in for an incredible 103 billion minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day this year, making it a standout day for television viewing. A big part of this success was thanks to NFL games, which not only drove record high TV usage for broadcast sports but also helped platforms like Peacock and Paramount+ see double-digit growth.

In fact, November 2025 was one for the books when it comes to TV and streaming consumption. The five-week reporting period showed a 5.5% increase in television usage overall, with live sports really making a splash. Sports drove broadcast to its best share of TV since the previous November and contributed to the growth of hybrid streamers like Peacock and Paramount+.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, audiences watched a whopping 103.4 billion minutes of TV that day, with streaming making up a significant portion. In fact, linear streaming on Thanksgiving reached its second-highest level ever, beating out all other days except for Super Bowl Sunday earlier in the year. And this November, Thanksgiving marked the 10th most-watched day for broadcast viewing since May 2021.

Broadcast TV really shined in November, with viewership up by 7% compared to October. The increase was driven largely by a 30% jump in sports viewing, including the MLB World Series and NFL and college football games. And while sports content only accounted for 3% of broadcast viewing time, it made up a whopping 37% of all broadcast viewership in November – a record high!

Streaming platforms also saw a boost in November, with Peacock and Paramount+ showing significant growth. Peacock saw a 22% increase thanks to its NFL Sunday Night Football coverage and Thanksgiving programming, while Paramount+ jumped up by 18.4% due to NFL games and its original series, Landman.

And let’s not forget about the convergence of broadcast and streaming. The Thanksgiving Day NFL matchup between the Chiefs and Cowboys on CBS generated a huge 11.7 billion viewing minutes, while Netflix’s “Stranger Things” raked in 11.8 billion minutes during the month. Both of these shows accounted for over 22,000 years of viewing time by U.S. audiences!

Overall, streaming saw an 8% increase in usage in November, capturing nearly half of all TV watch-time. Five of the top ten most-streamed days ever were recorded this month, with Netflix’s “Stranger Things” leading the charge with nearly 12 billion viewing minutes.

Want to dive deeper into the numbers? The Gauge™ is Nielsen’s monthly snapshot of total TV and streaming consumption, providing the industry with valuable insights into what audiences are watching. Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, ensuring that the data we see reflects the true viewing habits of audiences across the country.