The Hellfire Club triumphs again.
The Netflix original series Stranger Things was the most streamed program in 2022, racking up an impressive 52 billion viewing minutes. The show topped both the Nielsen Top 15 streaming programs and Top 15 original streaming programs.
Stranger Things’ 52 billion represents the highest figure since The Office racked up 57.1 billion viewing minutes during the Covid-driven lockdowns in 2020.
Over 10.2 trillion minutes of entertainment were streamed by Americans last year, a +27% increase over the 7.9 trillion minutes in 2021.
NCIS was the second most streamed title with 38.1 billion minutes, followed by Cocomelon with 37.8 billion minutes.
For original programming, Ozark and Wednesday trailed Stranger Things with 31.1 and 18.6 billion minutes, respectively. The latter is most impressive since Wednesday premiered on Netflix at the end of November.
NCIS was the most acquired streamed program, followed by Cocomelon and Grey’s Anatomy, which had 26.8 billion minutes.
On the film front, Encanto reigned supreme with 27.4 billion minutes, followed by Turning Red with 11.4 billion minutes and Sing 2 with 11.3 billion minutes.
Top 15 Streaming Programs
| Rank | Program | Platform | Minutes Viewed (Billions) |
# of Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Stranger Things | Netflix | 52.0 | 34 |
| 2. | NCIS | Netflix | 38.1 | 356 |
| 3. | Cocomelon | Netflix | 37.8 | 18 |
| 4. | Ozark | Netflix | 31.3 | 44 |
| 5. | Encanto | Disney+ | 27.4 | 1 |
| 6. | Grey’s Anatomy | Netflix | 26.8 | 396 |
| 7. | Criminal Minds | Various | 24.9 | 328 |
| 8. | Bluey | Netflix | 21.1 | 114 |
| 9. | Gilmore Girls | Netflix | 20.8 | 153 |
| 10. | Seinfeld | Netflix | 19.3 | 176 |
| 11. | Supernatural | Netflix | 18.8 | 328 |
| 12. | Wednesday | Netflix | 18.6 | 8 |
| 13. | Heartland | Netflix | 18.0 | 225 |
| 14. | Cobra Kai | Netflix | 16.7 | 50 |
| 15. | The Simpsons | Disney+ | 15.9 | 667 |
Top 15 Streaming Original Programs
| Rank | Program | Platform | Minutes Viewed (Billions) |
# of Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Stranger Things | Netflix | 52.0 | 34 |
| 2. | Ozark | Netflix | 31.1 | 44 |
| 3. | Wednesday | Netflix | 18.6 | 8 |
| 4. | Cobra Kai | Netflix | 16.7 | 50 |
| 5. | Bridgerton | Peacock | 14.0 | 16 |
| 6. | Virgin River | Netflix | 13.6 | 42 |
| 7. | Dahmer | Netflix | 13.4 | 10 |
| 8. | Love Is Blind | Netflix | 13.1 | 40 |
| 9. | Inventing Anna | Netflix | 12.9 | 9 |
| 10. | The Crown | Netflix | 12.7 | 50 |
| 11. | The Boys | Prime Video | 10.6 | 24 |
| 12. | Great British Baking Show | Netflix | 10.6 | 85 |
| 13. | The Umbrella Academy | Netflix | 10.5 | 30 |
| 14. | The Last Kingdom | Netflix | 10.4 | 46 |
| 15. | The Rings of Power | Prime Video | 9.4 | 8 |
Top 15 Streaming Acquired Programs
| Rank | Program | Platform | Minutes Viewed (Billions) |
# of Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | NCIS | Netflix | 38.1 | 356 |
| 2. | Cocomelon | Netflix | 37.9 | 18 |
| 3. | Grey’s Anatomy | Netflix | 26.8 | 396 |
| 4. | Criminal Minds | Various | 24.9 | 328 |
| 5. | Bluey | Disney+ | 21.1 | 114 |
| 6. | Gilmore Girls | Netflix | 20.8 | 153 |
| 7. | Seinfeld | Netflix | 19.3 | 176 |
| 8. | Supernatural | Netflix | 18.8 | 328 |
| 9. | Heartland | Netflix | 18.0 | 225 |
| 10. | The Simpsons | Disney+ | 15.9 | 667 |
| 11. | Friends | HBO Max | 14.5 | 236 |
| 12. | The Blacklist | Netflix | 14.0 | 196 |
| 13. | New Girl | Netflix | 14.0 | 146 |
| 14. | Spongebob Squarepants | Prime Video | 13.9 | 215 |
| 15. | Shameless | Netflix | 13.6 | 134 |
Top 15 Streaming Movies
| Rank | Program | Platform | Minutes Viewed (Billions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Encanto | Disney+ | 27.4 |
| 2. | Turning Red | Disney+ | 11.4 |
| 3. | Sing 2 | Netflix | 11.3 |
| 4. | Moana | Disney+ | 8.6 |
| 5. | The Adam Project | Netflix | 6.1 |
| 6. | Hocus Pocus 2 | Disney+ | 5.7 |
| 7. | Don’t Look Up (2021) | Netflix | 5.1 |
| 8. | Frozen | Disney+ | 5.1 |
| 9. | Luca (2021) | Disney+ | 5.0 |
| 10. | The Gray Man (2022) | Netflix | 5.0 |
| 11. | Zootopia | Disney+ | 4.4 |
| 12. | Coco | Disney+ | 4.3 |
| 13. | Eternals (2021) | Disney+ | 4.2 |
| 14. | Frozen II | Disney+ | 4.2 |
| 15. | Uncharted (2022) | Disney+ | 4.2 |