It’s what the people want, apparently. Nielsen debuted its Top 20 streaming charts covering the first half of the year, and its overall chart tells us that audiences have been tuning in most often for acquired content, rather than original programming.
The beloved children’s program Bluey topped the overall charts with a whopping 25.1 billion minutes viewed from January to June, but even the last show on the list — Comedy Central’s currently embroiled South Park — turned out extremely impressive numbers in 20th place, with 10.5 billion minutes watched.
Only three original titles made the overall list: Netflix’s hits Squid Game and The Night Agent, as well as Prime’s Reacher. Additionally, Squid Game — which has been viral since its premiere in September 2021 and continues to have a dedicated audience going into its final season — was the only original program to place in the top 10 of the overall list. It garnered over 15 billion minutes of viewing time.
Interestingly enough, these numbers only account for the Season 2 drop’s aftermath in January and actually omit the first few days the show was available, which will undoubtedly boost the number significantly. Plus, the figure is missing the premiere of Season 3 in late June.
The streaming originals list also highlighted some interesting figures, but one that innately stands out is Stranger Things. The Netflix crowdpleaser came in at No. 17 with just over 5 billion minutes viewed, which maybe at first glance doesn’t sound like much. However, the series hasn’t released a single episode in three years — so it’s clear fans are getting their rewatches in ahead of the final season’s premiere sometime later this year.
The state of streaming is an interesting one, but one thing is for sure: people like what they like.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
