Viewing hours for streaming companies continued to surge in 2023, with a 21% increase in the US compared to the previous year.
The re-released series Suits gaining the most eyeball-hours, followed by Australian cartoon dog Bluey.
Shows from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shows dominated the top-10, well ahead of Walt Disney's (NYSE:DIS) Disney+, Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple TV and Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video.
Legal drama Suits, which starred an actress called Meghan Markle and originally aired on the USA Network from 2011-2019, topped the streaming charts with a record-breaking 57.7 billion minutes watched on Netflix after a licensing deal with the streaming giant.
Helping it surpass the 2020 record set by the US version of The Office starring Steve Carell, was a prominent algorithm placement by Netflix.
Notably, 2023’s most-watched titles were not original productions but acquired content, indicating a trend toward nostalgic and long-running shows.
Netflix held a substantial share of the top titles, with shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Cocomelon, Gilmore Girls and Supernatural in the top 10. Suits was also shown on the Peacock platform.
'Bluey,' the cartoon series featuring an Australian dog family shown on Disney+ was the second most viewed show, registering 43.9 billion minutes of viewership in the US (including an episode all about cricket), nearly matching Suits despite its shorter episode format.
Ted Lasso on Apple TV topped original content produced by streamers, followed by Netflix's The Night Agent, despite only being a one-season show of eight hours compared to Lasso’s 23 hours, then Ginny & Georgia, Virgin River and Love Is Blind - all on Netflix - before Amazon's Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Disney's The Mandalorian.
The most watched film was Disney's Moana, with 11.6 billion minutes as audiences flocked to the 2016 release to enjoy songs such as 'You're Welcome' from the demigod Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, and 'Shiny' sung by giant crab Tamatoa, voiced by Jemaine Clement.
A slew of other children's titles like 'Encanto' (song highlight being the ensemble number 'We Don't Talk About Bruno') and 'The Super Mario Bros Movie' (Jack Black sings 'Peaches') were next in line.
The top streaming original was Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso," with 16.9 billion minutes watched, impressive for its relatively smaller subscriber base. Overall, streaming viewership in the US increased by 21% in 2023, with American audiences spending a cumulative 21 million years streaming content, underscoring the burgeoning dominance and growth of streaming services in the entertainment industry.