NFL football was a major reason that September’s broadcast share and Amazon Prime Video in particular grew in Nielsen’s Total TV/streaming monthly reading.

Broadcast share rose by 8% from August to 22.6% share, from 22.0%.

NFL games accounted for 14 of the top 15 broadcast telecasts. Overall, broadcast sports was up 9% versus August, when the highly viewed Paris Olympics were held.

Prime Video share rose 12% to its best ever 3.6% share, from 3.1% in August.

Streaming viewership declined slightly -- 2.2% -- but maintained its leading 41% share month-to-month. Lower seasonal viewing is typical in September for streaming platforms -- except for Prime Video and other platforms that have NFL games.

Looking at the broader picture year-over-year, streaming viewing was up 11%. Nielsen says 30% of that result came from Disney+, Peacock, and Tubi.

Although Tubi remains the highest-viewed FAST service (free ad-supported/streaming TV), Roku took big honors -- growing 42% in viewing versus September 2023.

Top two streaming platforms -- YouTube and Netflix -- remained number one and two, with a 10.6% and 7.9% share, respectively.

Cable viewing slipped from 26.3% in August -- versus the higher viewing of Paris Olympics on NBCUniversal cable networks. The games also aired on NBC Television Network and streamer Peacock.

Also benefiting cable in August was the Presidential debate where eight cable networks, collectively pulled in 22 million viewers.