Picture a world where scrolling and streaming are so dominant that if the 6.4 billion hours we now spend daily on social media and TV were a currency, we could buy the moon—twice.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, there were 4.76 billion active social media users worldwide, representing 59.4% of the global population
- Facebook had 3.03 billion monthly active users as of Q4 2023, making it the largest social network
- YouTube reached 2.5 billion monthly active users in 2023, with users watching over 1 billion hours of content daily
- In 2023, US households averaged 4 hours 58 minutes of TV viewing per day, totaling 1,090 hours annually per person
- Cable TV subscriptions in the US fell to 65.2 million in 2023, down 6.8% from 2022
- Netflix held 22% share of US TV viewing time in Q4 2023, leading streaming services
- In 2023, 28% of US adults relied on TV for news daily, down from 41% in 2016
- New York Times digital subscriptions hit 10.4 million in Q4 2023, up 10% YoY
- Wall Street Journal had 3.8 million total subscribers in 2023, 3.3 million digital
- Global media and entertainment ad revenue hit $344 billion in 2023, up 7.5% YoY
- US digital ad spend surpassed $300 billion in 2023, 60% of total ad market
- Social media platforms captured 28% of global ad spend in 2023 at $207 billion
- Spotify ad-supported revenue up 17% to €8.9 billion in 2023
- Global SVOD subscriptions reached 1.66 billion in 2023, up 11.7%
- YouTube Premium and Music had 100 million subscribers in 2023
Social media dominates global attention, influencing shopping and culture at massive scale.
Advertising and Revenue
- Global media and entertainment ad revenue hit $344 billion in 2023, up 7.5% YoY
- US digital ad spend surpassed $300 billion in 2023, 60% of total ad market
- Social media platforms captured 28% of global ad spend in 2023 at $207 billion
- Amazon ad revenue reached $46.9 billion in 2023, up 22% from 2022
- Programmatic advertising accounted for 82% of US display ad buys in 2023
- CTV ad spend in US grew 22% to $25 billion in 2023
- Google ad revenue totaled $237.9 billion in 2023, 76% of Alphabet's total
- Meta Platforms ad revenue hit $131.9 billion in 2023, up 15.5% YoY
- Retail media networks ad spend reached $49.8 billion globally in 2023
- Influencer marketing spend grew to $21.1 billion worldwide in 2023
- US out-of-home ad spend rose 8.3% to $8.5 billion in 2023 post-pandemic recovery
- Podcast advertising revenue in US hit $2.3 billion in 2023, up 27%
- Connected TV ad impressions grew 20% to 402 billion in US 2023
- Global video ad spend reached $180 billion in 2023, 50% of digital total
- TikTok ad revenue estimated at $18 billion globally in 2023
- Search ads comprised 36% of US digital ad market at $108 billion in 2023
- US radio ad revenue declined 2% to $12.9 billion in 2023
- Native advertising spend in US grew 15% to $12.5 billion in 2023
- Affiliate marketing revenue worldwide hit $15.7 billion in 2023
- Gaming ad spend reached $7.5 billion in US 2023, up 12%
- Social commerce ad revenue projected $119 billion globally by 2025 from $67B in 2023 base
- Print magazine ad pages down 11% in US 2023, revenue $7.2 billion
- Netflix generated $33.7 billion revenue in 2023, 30% from ads in new tier
- Disney ad revenue $8.2 billion in fiscal 2023, driven by ESPN and networks
Advertising and Revenue Interpretation
The digital ad gold rush is in full swing, led by a few tech giants and their algorithmic prospectors, while traditional media outlets are left panning for whatever scraps haven't already flowed to social feeds, streaming screens, and the checkout page.
Digital Streaming
- Spotify ad-supported revenue up 17% to €8.9 billion in 2023
- Global SVOD subscriptions reached 1.66 billion in 2023, up 11.7%
- YouTube Premium and Music had 100 million subscribers in 2023
- Disney+ reached 150 million subscribers globally by end 2023
- Amazon Prime Video had 200 million Prime members accessing video in 2023
- HBO Max (Max) subscribers hit 97.6 million in Q4 2023
- US streaming video usage share reached 38.7% of TV time in 2023
- Spotify had 602 million monthly active users, 236 million premium in Q4 2023
- Apple TV+ subscribers estimated at 25 million in 2023, growing via bundles
- Paramount+ reached 60 million subscribers by end 2023
- Global music streaming revenue hit $17.5 billion in 2023, up 10.2%
- Twitch averaged 2.3 million concurrent viewers daily in 2023
- Peacock grew to 31 million subscribers in Q4 2023, boosted by NFL
- Users spent 3 hours 38 minutes daily on streaming apps in US 2023 average
- Netflix password sharing crackdown added 13 million subs in Q4 2023
- YouTube watch time grew 15% YoY to billions of hours daily in 2023
- Hulu had 52.3 million subs in Q4 2023, bundled growth key
- Global AVOD (ad-supported streaming) revenue $11.5 billion in 2023
- Apple Music 88 million subscribers in 2023
- Roku streaming accounts reached 81.6 million in Q4 2023
Digital Streaming Interpretation
The music and streaming buffet is open to everyone now, but we're all paying in different currencies—whether it's with cash for a premium seat, our attention for an ad, or our personal data as the cover charge.
News Media
- In 2023, 28% of US adults relied on TV for news daily, down from 41% in 2016
- New York Times digital subscriptions hit 10.4 million in Q4 2023, up 10% YoY
- Wall Street Journal had 3.8 million total subscribers in 2023, 3.3 million digital
- Washington Post digital-only subscribers reached 3 million in February 2024
- US newspaper circulation fell to 20.9 million daily in 2023, down 8% from 2022
- 48% of Americans got news from local TV in past week per 2023 Pew survey
- CNN website had 128 million monthly unique visitors in 2023
- Fox News digital reached 92 million unique monthly users in Q4 2023
- BBC News app had 20 million monthly active users globally in 2023
- US digital news ad revenue grew 7% to $28.5 billion in 2023
- 86% of Americans avoid news due to overload, per Reuters 2023 survey
- Guardian US digital subs surpassed 1 million in 2023
- Podcast news consumption reached 41% of US weekly podcast listeners in 2023
- Trust in US news media at 32% per Gallup 2023 poll, lowest in decades
- New York Post website traffic hit 190 million monthly uniques in 2023
- 67% of Republicans distrust mainstream media per 2023 AP-NORC poll
- Global newsroom employment declined 20% since 2008 to 2023
- Email newsletters grew to 70% of journalists' distribution strategy in 2023
- US paywall penetration for news sites averaged 15% of traffic in 2023
- MSNBC.com had 45 million monthly uniques in December 2023
- Local news consumption via apps up 25% among under-35s in 2023
- Newspaper closures in US reached 2.5 per week average in 2023
- 76% of online Americans read news on smartphones weekly in 2023
- Global digital news revenue projected $100 billion by 2024
- US TV news viewership among 18-29s dropped to 11% weekly in 2023
- Global ad spend on newspapers fell to $30 billion in 2023, down 5%
News Media Interpretation
The picture is one of profound, painful transition: while trust in traditional media collapses and local newsrooms shutter, the public's hunger for news is being voraciously satisfied—and monetized—by digital giants and partisan outlets, creating a fragmented landscape where we are simultaneously overloaded with information and starved for reliable truth.
Social Media
- In 2023, there were 4.76 billion active social media users worldwide, representing 59.4% of the global population
- Facebook had 3.03 billion monthly active users as of Q4 2023, making it the largest social network
- YouTube reached 2.5 billion monthly active users in 2023, with users watching over 1 billion hours of content daily
- Instagram's advertising audience grew to 1.44 billion users in early 2024, up 7.5% from the previous year
- TikTok had 1.59 billion monthly active users globally in 2024, with India excluded due to ban representing potential 200 million more
- WhatsApp boasts 2.78 billion monthly active users in 2024, primarily used for messaging in 180+ countries
- Snapchat had 414 million daily active users in Q4 2023, with 80% under 34 years old
- LinkedIn reached 1 billion members worldwide in 2024, with 310 million monthly active users
- Twitter (X) had 368 million monetizable daily active users in Q1 2024, down slightly from previous peaks
- Pinterest users numbered 498 million monthly actives in 2023, with 80% female audience skew
- Global social media ad spend reached $207 billion in 2023, projected to grow 10% in 2024
- 62.6% of the world's population used social media in January 2024, averaging 2 hours 25 minutes daily
- In the US, 83% of adults used YouTube in 2023, highest among platforms
- Gen Z spends 4.5 hours daily on social media, compared to 2.7 hours for Boomers
- 95 million photos and videos shared daily on Instagram in 2023
- TikTok videos garner 1 billion views every 26 minutes globally
- Facebook Messenger has 1 billion monthly active users, handling 100 billion messages monthly
- 53.7% of social media users are female, 46.3% male as of 2024
- Social media influenced 31% of all purchases in 2023
- 70% of US teens use YouTube daily, 63% TikTok, 59% Snapchat in 2023
- Global social media users projected to reach 5.17 billion by end of 2024
- Instagram Reels reached 2 billion plays daily in 2023
- LinkedIn sees 3 people join every second, with 57 million companies listed
- Pinterest drives $2 billion in retail sales annually for US merchants
- X (Twitter) processes 500 million tweets daily in 2023
- WhatsApp Business used by 175 million people daily in 2023
- Snapchat Spectacles AR glasses viewed by 40 million users monthly
- Social media e-commerce sales hit $992 billion globally in 2023
- 41% of Gen Z discovers music via TikTok, highest platform influence
- Facebook Groups have 1.8 billion monthly active users across 16 million groups
Social Media Interpretation
The sheer scale of our digital village is both staggering and sobering: nearly two-thirds of humanity now spends over two and a half hours daily in curated feeds and viral loops, transforming platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp into populous nations where attention is the primary currency, social proof drives a third of all purchases, and a billion TikTok views flash by every 26 minutes like some relentless global heartbeat.
Television and Broadcast
- In 2023, US households averaged 4 hours 58 minutes of TV viewing per day, totaling 1,090 hours annually per person
- Cable TV subscriptions in the US fell to 65.2 million in 2023, down 6.8% from 2022
- Netflix held 22% share of US TV viewing time in Q4 2023, leading streaming services
- Super Bowl LVIII drew 123.4 million average viewers in 2024, highest ever for US broadcast
- Local TV news reached 87% of US TV households weekly in 2023
- Prime time TV viewing share dropped to 17.8% in US 2023, lowest on record
- Sports programming accounted for 42 of top 50 US telecasts in 2023 by viewership
- UK linear TV viewing hours fell 8% to 2 hours 53 minutes daily in 2023
- Fox News averaged 1.9 million primetime viewers in 2023, top cable network
- Disney's ABC saw 8.6 million viewers for Oscars 2024, up 9% from prior year
- Over-the-air broadcast TV still reaches 90% of US households, despite cord-cutting
- Nielsen estimates 120.6 million Americans watched at least some Super Bowl LVII in 2023
- Evening news programs like ABC World News averaged 7.1 million viewers weekly in 2023
- Spanish-language Univision averaged 1.1 million primetime viewers in 2023
- Live TV streaming via apps grew 12% in usage among US pay-TV households in 2023
- CNN averaged 579,000 primetime viewers in 2023, down 25% year-over-year
- MSNBC saw 1.02 million primetime viewers weekly average in Q4 2023
- UK iPlayer requests hit 5.9 billion in 2023, up 8% from 2022
- US TV ad spend totaled $66.3 billion in 2023, with 40% on broadcast
- Children 2-11 watched 1 hour 46 minutes of TV daily in US 2023
- Adults 18-49 TV usage share fell to 18.4% in 2023 amid streaming rise
- Election night 2024 coverage drew 30 million+ viewers across networks
- DirecTV lost 1.1 million subscribers in 2023, accelerating cord-cutting
- Broadcast TV news trusted by 53% of US adults more than cable in 2023 survey
- Global TV households numbered 1.7 billion in 2023
Television and Broadcast Interpretation
Even as we collectively abandon cable boxes and fracture into streaming tribes, we still reliably assemble in our millions for the spectacle of live sports, breaking news, and award shows, proving that television is no longer a shared hearth but a series of temporary, massive campfires we all agree to gather around.
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