Insights / Research / The Top 10 Shows on Major Global Streaming Platforms in 2024
Research / 2nd October 2024
Netflix has released its latest Global Engagement Report, a season-level breakdown of viewing on the platform from across the world. But Netflix isn’t the only major global streamer. With access to Digital i’s global streaming viewership data, it’s possible to examine and better understand content trends regarding global shows as we move into FY’25.
To complement and expand on the information shared by Netflix, Digital i has released data on the top 10 global shows of 1H’24. These top shows contain content viewed outside of Netflix by including Prime Video, Max and Disney+ in its rankings. It also breaks down the information on parent studios and key producers of successful shows.
These consumer insights, along with previous analyses of Digital i data, give further context to the Netflix numbers, showing how audiences interact with content across major streaming platforms.
Taken together, these data insights are a roadmap to the current state of the global content consumption.
Top 10 Shows by Viewer Hours across Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ & Max in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia & Argentina. Source: Digital i SoDA, passively collected account data from a representative panel of over 20,000 streaming homes.
Netflix was the sole streamer to have original programming appear in the Digital i’s global top 10. As Netflix shared in their engagement report, Bridgerton is a globally successful franchise. Of all the shows on the top global list, Bridgerton generated the most viewing time per season. Though Bridgerton’s huge popularity would please even Queen Charlotte, Grey’s Anatomy ranked higher, capturing the most viewing hours globally. With 21 seasons and 431 episodes, the global streaming sensation accounted for 15% of viewing time for the top 10 titles.
Bridgerton aside, the top global shows share several characteristics. 8 out of the 10 premiered in 2011 or earlier, and 9 out of 10 of them have 7 seasons or more. Global streaming platforms may have changed the way we consume content, but it hasn’t changed the desire for comfort viewing. In fact, having access to all seasons of a long-running show makes it more likely for audiences to opt for old favourites than they would on traditional TV.
A combination of highly dramatized workplace procedurals, sitcoms and family dramas continue to drive high levels of engagement worldwide. What’s more, every single top show was made and produced by American entertainment companies. In spite of the Hollywood strikes halting new productions, the U.S. has maintained their hold on global popular culture.
Examining the parent studios of high-viewership content, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) had a global advantage. Across UCAN, LATAM and Europe, 52% viewing time to the top 10 was generated by WBD. This highlights the value of content licensing deals to both Netflix and major studios like WBD and NBCUniversal. Every single show in the top 10 was available on Netflix in at least one region.
In terms of producers, Shonda Rhimes takes the crown. Rhimes’ production company, Shondaland is responsible for both Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton, the top two ranking shows. Chuck Lorre also had a strong showing with his titles The Big Bang Theory and subsequent spin-off Young Sheldon. They accounted for almost 1.5 billion viewing hours combined.
Identifying these types of key trends and case studies hidden in granular-level data is the kind of urgent analysis Digital i provides our clients. It’s critical for profitable streaming operations to stay on top of this information while understanding how to tap into it for future growth.
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