NFL drives surge in TV viewership across platforms during November

November 2025 was one of the highest-performing months for television and streaming in Nielsen’s The Gauge, which reported a 5.5 percent increase in total TV usage compared to October.

Thanksgiving Day alone generated 103.4 billion viewing minutes, the second-highest daily total for linear streaming after Super Bowl Sunday in February. Linear streaming accounted for 10.1 percent of TV usage that day, up from 7.8 percent across the month. It also marked the 10th highest day for broadcast viewing since The Gauge launched in May 2021.

Broadcast viewership rose 7 percent from October, securing a 23.2 percent share of television viewing and maintaining an edge over cable for the third month in a row. Sports content was the main contributor, with viewing up 30 percent month over month. NFL games, college football, and the conclusion of the MLB World Series on Fox accounted for much of the increase. Although sports represented just 3 percent of broadcast programming by duration, they made up 37 percent of total broadcast viewership and 6.4 percent of all TV usage — the highest sports share recorded by The Gauge.

Broadcast sports also attracted younger viewers, with viewership among people under 30 up 21 percent and viewing among children ages 2 to 11 increasing 27 percent.

Streaming also posted gains, increasing 8 percent to capture 46.7 percent of TV usage. Peacock grew 22 percent in November, driven by NFL Sunday Night Football and Thanksgiving simulcasts, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a primetime NFL game. The platform averaged 2.4 million viewers on Thanksgiving and reached a 1.9 percent share of total TV, excluding Olympic months. Original programming such as “All Her Fault” contributed 2.4 billion minutes.

Paramount+ increased 18.4 percent over the previous month, supported by NFL coverage and the return of the series “Landman”. Together, Paramount’s streaming platforms reached a 2.3 percent share.

Netflix saw a 10 percent increase in usage, with “Stranger Things” accounting for 11.8 billion viewing minutes in November. The show was the most-streamed title for the month and nearly matched the top broadcast telecast — the Thanksgiving NFL game between the Chiefs and Cowboys on CBS, which had 11.7 billion viewing minutes.

November included five of the 10 most-streamed days on record. Nov. 29 was the second highest single-day streaming total at 47.6 billion minutes, behind only Christmas Day 2024.

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The Roku Channel posted a 9 percent overall increase, supported by a 23 percent rise in viewership among ages 25 to 34, bringing its share to a record 2.9 percent.

Cable viewing declined 3 percent to 20.5 percent of total usage — its lowest level to date. While ESPN’s NFL coverage remained strong, the end of the MLB postseason contributed to a 42 percent drop in cable sports. Cable movies gained 22 percent, likely tied to seasonal programming.

The November 2025 measurement period covered five weeks, from Oct. 27 through Nov. 30, using Nielsen’s broadcast calendar.