Key sports events and feature films drove “record-breaking viewership” during what Nielsen calls the peak holiday season. But, what does this mean for the broadcast television industry?
Competition for eyeballs includes the OTT platforms associated with the parents of ABC and CBS, respectively.
According to Nielsen’s December 2025 Media Distributor Gauge, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Hallmark, Netflix and Amazon all saw notable gains for the month.
Disney captured the highest multiplatform increase, netting a total share of 10.7%. This growth was fueled by ESPN, which recorded a 30% viewership increase driven by collegiate and pro football telecasts and shoulder programming. Simultaneously, Freeform attracted audiences for Christmas-themed animated fare.
Warner Bros. Discovery benefitted from success with its cable networks, with TBS and TNT up 23% and 24%, respectively, thanks in large part to holiday films and college football playoff coverage. HBO Max also saw a 10% viewing increase, primarily driven by original series “It: Welcome To Derry,” alongside the continued popularity of “The Big Bang Theory” and “Friends.”
Leading the holiday movie genre’s success was The Hallmark Channel, which maintained strong momentum from November and secured the top 5 movie telecasts across cable distributors.
Two other distributors achieved platform-best shares in December: Amazon with a 4.3% total share and The Roku Channel with a 3.0% total share. Amazon notched a 12% viewing increase in December attributable to Thursday Night Football coverage, a record-setting Christmas Day NFL game and the second season of “Fallout.” Notably, The Roku Channel has exhibited consistent growth, the platform is up 45% since last December and up 190% compared to December 2023.
What does Nielsen share about broadcast network affiliate contributions? They declined in December 2025 compared to November, with all major networks down. “This decline is largely credited to less high-profile sports coverage, including the absence of Thanksgiving NFL games, a reduced college football schedule on broadcast, and no World Series games,” Nielsen says.
Cable news networks were also down for the month.
The December 2025 interval spanned four weeks, from 12/01/2025 through 12/28/2025. Nielsen reporting follows the broadcast calendar, with weekly intervals beginning on Monday.
