Nielsen data reveals traditional television continues to account for 70% of viewing while YouTube and other streamers gained 2.3 percentage points of total TV viewing between June and August

Seoul, South Korea, October 8, 2026 – Traditional television including Broadcasters, Pay Channels and General Pay Channels are still driving the largest TV viewing in South Korea, accounting for 70% of total TV viewing, while streaming accounted for 17.8% of total TV viewing in August 2026, according to the latest edition of Nielsen’s The Gauge™ South Korea.

The findings provide a clear picture of a South Korean television market that is becoming increasingly fragmented. Traditional television remains the dominant way audiences spend their time with the TV screen while streaming continues to gain share.

Pay Channels remained the largest viewing category in July, accounting for 38.7% of total TV viewing. Broadcaster viewing represented 22.7% in August, while General Pay Channel accounted for 7.8% and Other viewing represented 13.0%.

For Streaming, the August result represents a 2.3 percentage points increase from June, when streaming, including YouTube, Netflix and other OTT services, accounted for 15.5% of total TV viewing among People 4+ across the Total Day. During the same period, YouTube’s share grew from 9.1% to 10.5% while other streaming services including Netflix, Tving and Wavve grew by 1 percentage point from 6.4% to 7.4% 

Across the three-month period, some of the largest movements were seen in Streaming and General Pay Channel. Streaming increased by 2.3 percentage points between June and August, while General Pay Channel viewing declined by 1.7 percentage points over the same period, from 9.5% to 7.8%.

Matty Lin, Nielsen APAC Commercial VP said: “The results demonstrate why understanding television audiences increasingly requires a view across the entire viewing landscape.

South Korean audiences have more choice than ever in how and where they watch television, and we’re seeing that traditional television accounts for the majority of viewing, while streaming continues to show growth. However, streaming is only one part of the story which is why it’s increasingly important for the industry to understand these different forms of viewing together, rather than looking at individual platforms in isolation.”

Nielsen’s The Gauge provides a monthly snapshot of how audiences divide their total television viewing across major content and distribution categories, giving the industry an independent and consistent view of how viewing behaviour is changing over time.

The August results reinforce the importance of tracking the full viewing ecosystem as audiences increasingly move between different forms of television and streaming.

Adrienne Wong, Nielsen Managing Director, Platform & Digital Asia, added: “By bringing these different categories together within a single view, The Gauge helps advertisers, agencies, broadcasters and platforms see where audiences are spending their time and how those patterns are shifting from month to month.”

Dan Chapman

dan.chapman@nielsen.com