The Most Fashionable Streaming Platforms In The US May Not Be What You Assume
Netflix is not America’s most-watched streaming platform on TV, and two free providers are giving greater names some competitors.
The streaming platform Americans spend essentially the most time watching on TV does not require a subscription. In July 2026, YouTube had the most important share of US tv viewing at 14.2 %, which is sort of double Netflix’s 7.8 %. The different surprises got here farther down the rankings: The Roku Channel outpaced Peacock, whereas Tubi beat Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming providers, together with HBO Max.
These numbers come from Nielsen’s The Gauge, which tracks viewing time on TV, not subscriber numbers, app downloads or viewing on a cellphone. In July 2026, 49 % of all TV time was spent on streaming. Live channels watched through YouTube TV depend towards broadcast or cable viewing, so the standalone pay TV service does not inflate YouTube’s streaming share. It’s attention-grabbing that the platform most centered on particular person creators beat core streaming providers so handily, particularly when that is TV-only and thus does not embrace folks trying up tutorials on their telephones.
The Roku Channel and Tubi are beating some greater names
For July 2026, Disney’s streaming providers (Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+) accounted for 4.7 % of streaming’s viewing share, adopted by Prime Video at 4.2 %. The Roku Channel was fifth at 2.9 %, simply forward of Peacock’s 2.6 %. Paramount’s providers, together with Paramount+ and Pluto TV, accounted for two.2 %. Tubi’s 2 % was sufficient to outperform the 1.4 % earned by Warner Bros. Discovery’s providers (HBO Max and discovery+).
Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery every have a number of providers grouped collectively, whereas The Roku Channel and Tubi are counted individually. These numbers are for July, earlier than Paramount (now Skydance) acquired Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6.
Despite its decrease place, Peacock had an excellent month, with TV viewing up 15 % from June. World Cup coverage gave it a boost, and Love Island USA had 4.9 billion viewing minutes in July. Nielsen mentioned it was nonetheless evaluating the influence of a June change to the way it measures Tubi.
Free viewing does not rule out paid extras
The Roku Channel and Tubi help you stream live channels, shows and movies for free, with adverts because the tradeoff. Some Tubi viewers on Reddit have pointed to older reveals and hard-to-find films as causes to maintain watching, though others nervous about the potential of extra adverts. Tubi does not provide a paid subscription, whereas Roku sells elective subscriptions to different streaming providers. You can even watch The Roku Channel’s free catalog in a browser or on suitable Samsung and Fire TV units with out shopping for Roku {hardware}.
YouTube reported greater than 700 million hours of podcasts watched on living-room units in October 2025, up from 400 million a yr earlier. Its common movies are free with adverts, nevertheless it has no scarcity of how to take your cash. You can lease or purchase films, subscribe to YouTube Premium or pay for particular person creator memberships. Netflix primarily depends on recurring plans, whereas Prime Video provides leases and add-on channel subscriptions.
Fox already owns Tubi and agreed to acquire Roku in a deal valued at roughly $22 billion in June. Roku confirmed on October 19 that the transaction was nonetheless pending.
