TECHNOLOGY
Nielsen's first-half 2026 streaming ranking: Netflix's Stranger Things leads, Disney+ missing from the list
Nielsen's numbers for the first half of 2026 show Stranger Things and The Pitt at the top of streaming originals. Disney+ does not appear among the biggest originals by minutes viewed.
Image: Disney+
Nielsen has released its viewing numbers for the first half of 2026, and Netflix's Stranger Things came out on top among streaming originals. HBO Max's The Pitt is close behind. Disney+ is not on the list of top originals by streamer, which stands out given the service's size.
Nielsen publishes this kind of report twice a year, showing what people in the US have actually been watching. The latest one paints an encouraging picture for streaming overall.
Beyond the top two, shows like One Piece, Invincible and Shrinking are pulling healthy numbers and making the Top 20 Most-Watched Originals. Kids' content is still a big force, with Bluey outpacing Grey's Anatomy. Even The Big Bang Theory is seeing a bit of a revival.
Here is the biggest original from each major streamer, ranked by total minutes viewed in the first half of 2026. Netflix has Stranger Things with 23.261 billion minutes. HBO Max has The Pitt with 21.118 billion. Paramount+ has Landman with 12.400 billion.
Prime Video's top title is The Boys, at 9.597 billion minutes. Peacock has The Traitors with 7.737 billion. Hulu's biggest is Paradise at 5.660 billion, and Apple TV+ has Shrinking at 5.246 billion.
Disney+ is missing from that breakdown, even though it has aired shows like Percy Jackson and Daredevil: Born Again. The source material does not say why. The original report, as cited by Hacker News, links this to news about Disney raising prices and showing ads on every subscription tier. The material available does not independently confirm every detail of that claim, so those details should be checked against the linked report before being relied on.