Global Viewership and Ratings Leaders in 2022
Nielsen reported that the most watched TV series in the U.S. during 2022 included NFL Sunday Night Football, which averaged over 17 million viewers per episode, followed by ABC's Grey's Anatomy and CBS's NCIS. Nielsen's top 10 list also highlighted streaming series such as Wednesday, which became a global phenomenon after its October 2022 debut on Netflix, and The Umbrella Academy. According to Nielsen's Total Audience Report, streaming accounted for over 38% of total TV viewing in the U.S. in July 2022, a record share at the time. For detailed ratings, see Nielsen's official audience measurement reports at https://www.nielsen.com/metrics/top-10/. Nielsen Top 10 TV Ratings
In terms of global demand, Parrot Analytics measured the most in-demand TV series of 2022, with Wednesday ranking first globally in its debut week and maintaining high demand throughout the quarter. Other series with strong global demand included The Witcher, Stranger Things, and House of the Dragon, which premiered on HBO Max in August 2022 and became the most in-demand series globally for several weeks. Parrot Analytics' demand expressions metric compares audience interest across platforms and regions, providing a standardized view of a show's performance beyond traditional ratings. https://www.parrotanalytics.com/
Streaming Platforms and Their 2022 Lineups
Netflix added over 100 original series titles to its global catalog in 2022, with Wednesday becoming its most watched English-language series debut in the platform's history, accumulating 3.1 billion viewing hours in its first 25 days, according to Netflix's official announcement. Other high-performing Netflix originals from 2022 include Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and The Recruit. Netflix's quarterly earnings reports provide detailed subscriber and viewing data, and investors can review the latest filings at https://ir.netflix.net/. Netflix Investor Relations
Disney+ continued its expansion in 2022 with the launch of the Star Wars series Andor in September and the Marvel series Ms. Marvel in June, while also integrating content from Hulu and ESPN+ under its streaming bundle. HBO Max, rebranded as Max in 2023, launched House of the Dragon, its Game of Thrones prequel, which became the most-watched HBO original series premiere. Warner Bros. Discovery's quarterly reports detail subscriber growth and content investments, available at https://www.wbd.com/investor-relations/. Warner Bros. Discovery Investor Relations
Industry Trends and Business Impact of 2022 TV Series
The 2022 TV series landscape was shaped by ongoing Hollywood labor disputes, including the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strikes, which paused production on multiple series and affected release schedules across major studios. These strikes highlighted tensions over streaming residuals and AI usage in the industry, with the WGA securing a contract that includes protections around the use of artificial intelligence for writing. The strikes delayed several high-profile series and impacted advertising revenue for networks and streaming platforms during the second half of 2023. For details on the agreements, see the official WGA contract summary at https://www.wga.org/. WGA Contract Details
From a financial perspective, the