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Nielsen: Disney Ups January Household TV Market Share Thanks to Football, News
February 24, 2026
In a month where television viewing reached a 12-month high, Disney captured the largest month-over-month gain in Nielsen’s January Media Distributor Gauge report, a monthly view of total household TV consumption aggregated by parent company.
Disney added 1.2 share points and finished with 11.9% of total television viewing in January, nearly tying its Media Distributor Gauge best (12% in January 2025), and bringing it within 0.6 share points of YouTube’s 12.5% market lead.
Disney’s momentum was primarily fueled by ESPN’s coverage of the College Football Playoffs and Championship games, which drove an 82% monthly viewing increase on the network and contributed nearly a full share point to Disney’s total.
Disney also got a boost from its ABC affiliates, with viewing up 10% on the strength of multiple NFL games, the Citrus Bowl, the return of broadcast dramas, and seasonal staples such as “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” and “The Rose Bowl Parade.” ABC’s “High Potential” and “ABC World News Tonight” were notably the top broadcast programs in each of their respective genres in January.
Netflix represented 8.8% of TV usage in January and maintained the No. 3 rank among distributors. Netflix’s overall usage was up slightly at 1%, and its original series “Stranger Things” claimed the top streaming program for a second consecutive month.
NFL games carried on NBC, plus streaming simulcasts on Peacock, were a key factor in the 5% overall increase to NBCU-Versant. Peacock also benefited from a new season of its original series “The Traitors.” Additionally, Telemundo affiliates saw a 13% jump in viewership powered by the sports reality hit “Exatlón,” bringing the network’s monthly share contribution to 0.7 points. Overall, NBCU-Versant represented 8.5% of TV viewership, up 0.3 points vs. December.
Fox climbed to 7.4% of TV viewership (+0.4 points). This growth was largely underscored by a 17% jump in viewing on the Fox News Channel, which accounted for more than half (+0.25 points) of Fox’s monthly share increase.
Led by increases on FYI (+46%) and Lifetime (+14%), A&E’s combined viewership climbed 8% (+0.1 point) and moved up one slot in the distributor rankings.
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