Nielsen statistics show that Netflix dominated streaming figures in 2022. Stranger Things was the year’s most streamed series, while Wednesday, Tim Burton’s Addams Family reprise, trailed close behind despite being released so late in the year. Other big hits for Netflix were Ozark, NCIS and Cocomelon.
The Duffer Brothers’ hit show, Stranger Things, burst back onto the streaming platform for its penultimate and most popular run last summer. The hit series set a post-lockdown record, racking up 52 billion minutes of viewing time over 2022 following its release. The pandemic record was set by The Office (US) in 2020, which garnered a whopping 57.1 billion minutes over the year.
Joining Stranger Things on the TV series podium for 2022 were Ozark, with 31.3 billion minutes of streaming, and Wednesday, with 18.6 billion minutes streamed.
The Nielsen figures, as unveiled by The Hollywood Reporter, show that Stranger Things acquired 46.51 billion minutes of its total over the summer amid the fourth series’ initial release. The remaining 5.5 billion minutes were spread thinly over the remainder of the year; apparently, almost everyone in the world had caught up by the end of the summer.
Elsewhere, Amazon Prime Video enjoyed some heavy viewing figures courtesy of the superhero show The Boys, which totalled 10.6 billion minutes. Meanwhile, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power clocked 9.4 billion minutes, which is impressive, given that The Boys boasts 24 episodes versus just eight for the new Lord of the Rings reboot.
As seen below, acquired Tv shows were also a huge player in the 2022 stats. Ten of the top 15 titles arrived on streaming platforms from external bodies, including Grey’s Anatomy, Seinfeld, Supernatural and The Simpsons.
Overall streaming figures:
- Stranger Things (Netflix), 52 billion minutes viewed
- NCIS (Netflix), 38.1 billion
- Cocomelon (Netflix), 37.8 billion
- Ozark (Netflix), 31.3 billion
- Encanto (Disney+), 27.4 billion
- Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 26.8 billion
- Criminal Minds (Netflix/Hulu/Paramount+), 24.9 billion
- Bluey (Disney+), 21.1 billion
- Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 20.8 billion
- Seinfeld (Netflix), 19.3 billion
- Supernatural (Netflix), 18.8 billion
- Wednesday (Netflix), 18.6 billion
- Heartland (Netflix), 18 billion
- Cobra Kai (Netflix), 16.7 billion
- The Simpsons (Disney+), 15.9 billion
Original series streaming figures:
- Stranger Things (Netflix), 52 billion
- Ozark (Netflix), 31.3 billion
- Wednesday (Netflix), 18.6 billion
- Cobra Kai (Netflix), 16.7 billion
- Bridgerton (Netflix), 14 billion
- Virgin River (Netflix), 13.6 billion
- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix), 13.4 billion
- Love Is Blind (Netflix), 13.1 billion
- Inventing Anna (Netflix), 12.9 billion
- The Crown (Netflix), 12.7 billion
- The Boys (Prime Video), 10.6 billion // The Great British Baking Show (Netflix), 10.6 billion
- The Umbrella Academy (Netflix), 10.5 billion
- The Last Kingdom (Netflix), 10.4 billion
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video), 9.4 billion
