Netflix, Disney programs lead streaming attention for 2021
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A look at the year in top streaming shows for 2021 - a period marked by an ongoing pandemic and sharp increases in both connections and content - shows that the fight for attention was largely a tale of two streamers.

There are more direct-to-consumer services than ever before, but many of them are there to fill smaller niches. And Nielsen's "Streaming Unwrapped 2021" look at the shows streaming the most minutes over the last year largely favored two of the biggest attention-getters in the space: Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Disney (NYSE:DIS).
U.S. consumers as a group streamed nearly a staggering 15 million years' worth of programming in 2021. It turns out that capturing that consumer attention helps if you have a lot of content in your library.
That was borne out by the shows that topped 2021's original-programming list, where the top nine slots were all held by Netflix (NFLX) shows. With 93 episodes available, Lucifer topped that chart, streaming 18.34 billion minutes for the year, and The Great British Baking Show (with 75 episodes) was third-best, streaming 13.64 billion minutes.
Of course, Netflix also proved that you didn't need several years of content to build a success, as the No. 2 original was its Squid Game, where only nine episodes streamed 16.43 billion minutes. (Chart-topper Lucifer deserves as bit of an asterisk on an "originals" chart, as it started life on Fox before Netflix rescued it by picking up production.)
The rest of the top nine, all on Netflix: No. 4, Virgin River (12.91 billion minutes); No. 5, Bridgerton (12.36 billion); No. 6, You (11.12 billion); No. 7, Cobra Kai (10.92 billion); No. 8, The Crown (9.65 billion); and No. 9, Longmire (8.89 billion).
From there, some rivals' original programming made a dent. Hulu (DIS, CMCSA) landed the 10th-most-watched original with The Handmaid's Tale (8.56 billion minutes). Apple TV+ (NASDAQ:AAPL) had the No. 12 show with Ted Lasso (8.16 billion minutes). And Disney+ (DIS) placed WandaVision at No. 14 for the year with 7.28 billion minutes streamed.
Acquired series have always proved to be Netflix's territory, and its programs took all of the top 12 slots on that chart, led by Criminal Minds (33.87 billion minutes), CoComelon (33.28 billion), Grey's Anatomy (32.63 billion), NCIS (29.53 billion), Heartland (20.41 billion) and Manifest (19.92 billion).
The few rival dents on acquired series came from Bones, the No. 13 original streaming 11 billion minutes across Amazon Prime Video (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Hulu (DIS, CMCSA); and No. 14 Seinfeld, which streamed 10.45 billion minutes across Hulu and Netflix during 2021.
Movies command fewer streaming minutes than series, simply because of fewer "episodes" to view, but there the chart flips in Disney's (DIS) favor. Disney+ logs 11 of the top 15 streaming movies for 2021, including the top four: Luca (10.59 billion minutes), Moana (8.9 billion), Raya and the Last Dragon (8.34 billion) and Frozen II (5.75 billion). Netflix doesn't enter the movie chart until the fifth-best selection, Red Notice (5.53 billion minutes).
Other top Disney movies streamed in 2021: Frozen (5.42 billion minutes); Soul (5.28 billion); Cruella (5.17 billion); Jungle Cruise (4.43 billion); Black Widow (4.41 billion); Coco (4 billion); and Avengers: Endgame (3.68 billion). Amazon (AMZN) made an entry on the movies chart at No. 12 with The Tomorrow War (4.05 billion minutes).
(A reminder that Nielsen streaming ratings incorporate viewing from five major streamers: Amazon Prime Video (AMZN), Apple TV+ (AAPL), Disney+ (DIS), Hulu (DIS, CMCSA) and Netflix (NFLX).)
Netflix may like to look back on a year dominating streaming eyeballs, after it spent this week as the biggest decliner in Communications Services thanks to disappointing user numbers in its fresh earnings report.