CBS Outpaces Disney+, Amazon, Hulu and HBO Max In One Surprising Streaming Metric

CBS is outperforming Disney+, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO Max in one surprising streaming metric. In a new batch of numbers from Nielsen, the broadcaster has reached 215 billion minutes of CBS programing across all of its holdings. That means that more people watched their programming than those competitors combined. It's a wild number to ponder and makes sense when you take into account how many different sectors the company exists in. For example, holdings like The NFL on CBS and College Football programing absolutely crushes. But, they also account for 67 billion minutes watched as well. Likewise, their news division sees an absolutely staggering 37 billion minutes as well. 

Between wildly popular franchises like NCIS and FBI, there4's a combined 23 billion minutes watched as well. Go ahead and tack on 4 billion minutes for Blue Bloods as well. But, it isn't just the nighttime that bloats that total. Daytime programming like The Price Is Right and The Young and the Restless also comes into play with 35 billion minutes consumed. It's hard for even a juggernaut like Disney+ to keep up with these numbers because of specializations.

What's The Strategy Moving Forward

Last year, CBS CEO George Cheeks addressed their gains. It's clear the terrestrial approach is still working for them. "While 'time spent' has mainly been a streamers' metric, it actually demonstrates the continuing strength and scale of broadcast television, and CBS in particular," Cheeks said of the strength of news and sports at Paramount Plus. "Additionally, all this content is available on Paramount Plus too, both live and on demand."

"No matter how you analyze the numbers – time spent, live +7, live +3 or live – CBS' primetime schedule and our highly successful new series are resonating loudly with viewers," added Kelly Kahl, president of CBS Entertainment.

Are you surprised by these numbers? Let us know down in the comments!