Commentary
Streaming Co-Viewing Strength: Sports, Premium Programs
- by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 29, 2025
Highly scrutinized co-viewing data continues to be important measure in the modern digital video world -- especially with sports and also one-time major events.
In November, Netflix’s “Tyson vs. Paul” boxing event posted viewing levels near to the Super Bowl toward the end of the match -- where there was on average two viewers per viewing household, according to TVision.
Research showed that the airing of the program from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. -- which included preliminary matches -- had increasing co-viewing, from a 1.78 to a 1.94.
Over the same period, broader streaming co-viewing for all on-demand OTT programming was higher than linear TV -- at a constant 1.66 average.
By comparison, linear TV posted a 1.38 average, while the "Tyson vs. Paul" event averaged 1.87.
TVision data estimates that 108 million U.S. viewers watched the boxing program, and says that by the final hour, more than half the entire TV viewing audience watched the fight.
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Analyst cite continued value in observing co-viewing because it can produce real-time engagement and communication among those in the room -- especially when there are children present. This can change typical TV “passive” viewing to more “active” consumption -- something that benefits TV content producers and advertisers.
TVision -- which measures attention through eyes-on-the-screen technology -- says viewing in households with kids, where there is co-viewing of premium TV content, results in higher attention.
In particular, content on Disney+ where there is co-viewing with kids shows 4% more attention than other apps.
Looking at all co-viewing -- regardless of age and gender -- Disney+ scores the most viewers per viewing household, with a 1.7.
Prime Video and Hulu are next -- each with a 1.5 -- followed by Paramount+, Tubi and Netflix, each with a 1.4 for attention.
Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost. You can reach Wayne at wayne@mediapost.com.
As an audience measurement lifer, I'd note that the key thing about measurement of co-viewing (as opposed to the phenomenon of co-viewing) isn't so much the inrtra-room dynamic among viewers, so much as counting all the impressions. In the streaming world, streams may be empirically counted, and mapped to precise accounts and/or devices associated with these streams. But what co-viewing enables you to get at is, if I put one piece of creative on one piece of glass, is that one impression, or three? I am sure that Netflix, and all the other streamers who sell ads, want to assure that they get credit for all the viewers out there on the receiving end of the streams.