Netflix Dominates Nielsen Top Ten List For Streaming Hours, But 'Encanto' Makes A Big Debut For Disney

A list put out by research firm Nielsen Holdings NLSN showed how many hours were streamed of top shows and movies on major streaming platforms for the week of Dec. 27, 2021 through Jan. 2, 2022. Here are the results and why they’re important.

What Happened: The list from Nielsen estimates streaming hours on the world's biggest platforms: Netflix Inc NFLX, Amazon.com Inc AMZN, Apple Inc AAPL, Hulu and The Walt Disney Co DIS.

These were the top ten streamed shows for the week:

• Cobrai Kai (Netflix): 2.42 billion minutes
• The Witcher (Netflix): 1.83 billion minutes
• Emily in Paris (Netflix): 1.11 billion minutes
• The Wheel of Time (Amazon): 630 million minutes
• Hawkeye (Disney+): 539 million minutes
• Queer Eye (Netflix): 466 million minutes
• Lost in Space (Netflix): 452 million minutes
• The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+): 389 million minutes
• Stay Close (Netflix): 349 million minutes
• The Great British Baking Show (Netflix): 338 million minutes

For movies, these were the top ten most streamed by minutes:

• Encanto (Disney+): 2.20 billion minutes
• Don’t Look Up (Netflix): 2.02 billion minutes
• Ron’s Gone Wrong (Disney+): 378 million minutes
• Being the Ricardos (Amazon): 371 million minutes
• The Lost Daughter (Netflix): 355 million minutes
• The Unforgiveable (Netflix): 323 million minutes
• Red Notice (Netflix): 288 million minutes
• Back to the Outback (Netflix): 275 million minutes
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Disney+): 260 million minutes
• Jungle Cruise (Disney+): 229 million minutes

Nielsen also ranks the top ten acquired shows, where Netflix held nine of the top ten positions with shows like NCIS, Cocomelon, Criminal Minds and Seinfeld. Disney+ had the tenth most popular acquired show for that particular week with Bluey.

A ranking of the top ten streamed programs by minutes has Netflix ranked first with Cobra Kai and holding eight of the top ten positions.

Disney took the second spot with Encanto and Amazon ranked ninth overall with Wheel of Time.

Related Link: Here Are The 10 Most Watched Movies On Netflix Of All-Time

Why It’s Important: The streaming wars continue to heat up, and companies are spending more on content to boost subscribers and keep them engaged for longer periods of time on their platforms over rivals.

Netflix ended the recent quarter with 222 million paid memberships, adding 8.3 million in the fourth quarter. The streaming giant acknowledged competition increasing and saw shares fall on weaker guidance.

Disney+ showed strength in the recent Nielsen report, with Encanto topping the movie list and several other programs ranking in the top ten. Investors should take note that The Book of Boba Fett ranks eighth in minutes-viewed for shows despite only one episode being available in that given week, versus at least six for each of the other shows on the list.

The strength of Encanto, The Book of Boba Fett and Hawkeye, shows that Disney is seeing success in using its streaming platform for original content produced by its multiple studios and using some of its well-known intellectual property like Marvel and Star Wars. Disney+ had 118.1 million subscribers in the fourth quarter. 

Netflix recently announced it was raising prices for its streaming plans. Given the strong dominance in the streaming space, this shouldn’t come as a surprise and could help boost overall revenue.

Netflix also has sequels to many of its top streamed shows of all-time coming out soon, including new seasons of Bridgerton and Stranger Things.

The Nielsen report may also show that Amazon Prime, Apple Plus TV and Hulu are lagging behind the leaders.