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Broadcast TV viewing in June increased 118% thanks to the FIFA World Cup and NBA Finals, “lifting the category to a 19.8% share of TV time for the month,” its first increase during the period since the launch of the Nielsen Gauge in 2021, according to Lucas Manfredi of THE WRAP. New data from the Gauge showed that cable saw a 2% decrease in viewing to a total share of 19.5% -- “driven by the absence of the NBA and NHL playoffs” -- which led to a 10% monthly decline in cable sports viewership. As for streaming, the category made up 48.5% of TV viewing, up about 3% compared to May but just below the 3.1% increase for total TV usage. Fox and NBCUniversal “benefited from being the broadcast and streaming homes of the FIFA World Cup,” as the companies saw over 84 billion minutes viewed combined across their properties and were the “only distributors to see viewing increases in the Media Distributor Gauge during the month.” Telemundo served as the exclusive home to all Spanish-language World Cup coverage, which drove a 143% monthly viewing increase to its broadcast affiliates in June. On days where Peacock aired that coverage, it “saw a 60% increase in audience engagement on the platform compared to days when it didn’t.” The World Cup boosted Fox affiliate viewing by 73% and Fox Sports 1 viewing by 232% (THE WRAP, 8/18).