• by Wayne Friedman , Yesterday

In the first quarter of 2025, 72.4% of all total day TV viewing (linear TV and streaming) was on ad-supported platforms -- with 27.6% on ad-free platforms, Nielsen says.

Breaking this down further, linear TV had the bulk of ad-supported viewing -- at 58% -- with streaming platforms at 42.4%. Broadcast networks had a 28.7% share of ad-supported viewing, with cable TV networks at 28.9%.

Nielsen says the new measure comes in time for the upfront TV advertising market, which typically begins in June.

This is a new extension of "The Gauge" measure, which launched in May 2021. In April 2024, Nielsen expanded that measure to include The Media Distributor Gauge.

Nielsen also announced new media agency deals for its Nielsen One cross-platform measurement, adding GroupM, VaynerMedia, and Ocean Media.

Beginning May 1, Nielsen is starting a connected TV/CTV insights area on its Ad Intel platform, where buyers and sellers can track CTV ad spend across all major streaming platforms alongside linear TV and digital advertising spend.

Nielsen says its CTV insights cover 41 streaming platforms, representing more than 95% of the U.S. CTV market, which includes measurement of all major streaming apps.