Viewers Shun Traditional Viewing for Netflix and Disney+, Streaming Titles Skyrocket 39%

The growing popularity of streaming services like Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) has led to a surge in the number of titles on streaming services in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, and Germany.

The number of titles on streaming services climbed 39% over the past two years to 2.35 million, Bloomberg cites Nielsen.

Add in traditional broadcast and cable channels, and individual viewing options climbed to 2.7 million.

Netflix and Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) Disney+ are among 167 streaming providers, up from 118 two years ago.

The average time it takes someone to find something to watch has risen to more than 10 minutes from a little over seven minutes in 2019.

Nielsen credits the surge partly to expanding free, ad-supported streaming services like Paramount Global's (NASDAQ: PARA) Pluto and Fox Corp's (NASDAQ: FOX) Tubi.

NBCUniversal also aims to launch dedicated channels for programs like Saturday Night Live and Top Chef.

In the U.S. in May, 60% of all time spent on streaming was for shows originally aired on regular TV.

Earlier in August, Nielsen flagged the significant shift in TV viewing habits as traditional broadcast and cable TV channels saw their combined viewership drop below 50% for the first time in the U.S. While streaming platforms experienced a surge.

Price Action: NFLX shares traded higher by 0.59% at $418.47 on the last check Monday.