Aug 20 Reuters TV viewership in the United States rose 3.5 in July from a year earlier, largely driven by the summer Olympics in Paris, according to research firm Nielsen39;s latest The Gauge report.

Streaming platforms amassed 41.4 of TV viewership for the month and accounted for the largest share among all TV viewing formats, including traditional broadcast and cable networks.

The Gauge report unveils TV viewing trends of the U.S. audience across platforms and distributors.

WHY IT39;S IMPORTANT

Media companies including Netflix, Amazon.com and Walt Disney are increasingly investing in sports content and bidding wars for rights to broadcast major sporting events to attract younger viewers.

While the beginning of the Paris Olympics was a major driving factor for the uptick in TV viewership in July, the U.S. presidential election campaign also contributed.

BY THE NUMBERS

All the spotlight was on Comcast39;s streaming platform Peacock in July as it saw a 33 spike in its monthly usage, mainly boosted by the Olympics and shows such as 39;Love Island USA39;.

Other streamers that performed well include Amazon.com39;s Amazon Prime Video and Roku Channel.

YouTube, owned by Alphabet39;s Google, became the first streaming platform ever to exceed 10 of total TV usage in July, compared with 9.9 in June.

Among the streaming programs, 39;House of Dragons39; on Max topped with 4.7 billion viewing minutes. 39;Bluey39; on Walt Disneyowned Disney came in second with 4.3 billion,…