Nielsen: Football Drives August TV Gains For Disney, Fox
September 23, 2025
Football was the common catalyst for Disney and Fox in August, as coverage of the new college football season along with the NFL preseason drove the only household TV market share increases for media companies, according to Nielsen.
Disney climbed to 9.7% of TV watch-time (up 0.3 share points vs. July), as football coverage helped drive a 4% bump for ABC affiliates, and a 25% surge for ESPN. The viewing impact from Fox affiliates contributed to a 14% monthly uptick to represent 6.7% of TV viewing (up 0.2 points).
While the effects of a new football season will not be fully evident until September, its late-month impact was a clear indicator of what’s to come. When comparing the first and last weeks of August, viewing on Fox affiliates was up 36%, ABC affiliates gained 29%, and ESPN surged 196%, which was due at least in part to a season premiere of “College GameDay.”
Disney’s market share of TV viewing started at 8.9% in the first week of the month, and concluded with 11.5% in the final week.
This football-driven surge countered the back-to-school drop in viewing among school-aged audiences, with streaming viewership being the most impacted by this group. Top-ranked YouTube gave up 0.3 share points and finished the month with a 13.1% share of TV viewing. Meanwhile, Netflix held steady in third with 8.7% (down 0.1 point) on the strength of owning the top four streaming titles of the month.
Beyond the top three, shares for NBCUniversal and Paramount remained even with July, finishing with 7.6% and 7.1%, respectively. Like Disney and Fox, both NBCU and Paramount were buoyed by gains across their broadcast affiliates as the two also benefited from the return of football.
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