Streamers overtook cable for the month, accounting for almost 35 percent (34.8 percent, to be exact) of all TV usage in the US, according to Nielsen’s monthly Gauge platform rankings.

Nielsen figures also run counter to gloomier reports from media companies in recent weeks.

Netflix shed nearly a million subscribers worldwide in the second quarter of the year, and Warner Bros. Discovery is making post-merger layoffs and cutting some programming from HBO Max as it prepares to combine that service and the nonfiction-focused Discovery+ next year.

Cable (34.4 percent of TV use) and broadcast (21.6 percent), meanwhile, both hit their lowest points in the 14 months that Nielsen has been releasing its platform rankings. Cable is down by about 9 percent from the same point a year ago, while broadcast networks slipped by 10 percent. There’s some noise in that comparison — the Tokyo Olympics and delayed NBA and NHL playoff contests were airing on broadcast and cable outlets a year ago — but both platforms have been trending down for several months, coinciding with streaming’s steady rise.

Other TV use, including gaming, physical media playback and streaming from cable set-top boxes (which don’t credit individual streaming services), made up the remaining 9.2 percent of total usage in July.

Netflix was the top individual streamer with 8 percent of all TV usage. YouTube (7.3 percent), Hulu (3.6 percent) and Amazon’s Prime Video (3 percent) all improved month to month, while Disney+ (1.8 percent) slipped a little. HBO Max was steady at 1 percent.

Platforms

Streaming: 34.8 percent
Cable: 34.4 percent
Broadcast: 21.6 percent
Other: 9.2 percent

Streaming Services

Netflix: 8 percent
YouTube (including YouTube TV): 7.3 percent
Hulu (including Hulu + Live): 3.6 percent
Prime Video: 3 percent
Disney+: 1.8 percent
HBO Max: 1 percent
All others: 10.2 percent