And the Most Popular Streaming Shows Are..

When several of the world’s largest media companies decided to invest billions of dollars in new streaming services, they spent their money on prestige dramas, NBC sitcoms and famous producers.

But, according to Bloomberg, it turns out the most-watched TV show in the US is a 21-year-old legal procedural (it’s not Suits). The most popular streaming service is a repository for user-generated content, Baby Shark and music videos. And, despite the streaming wars, Netflix still accounts for more hit shows than all its competitors combined.

The most-watched show on TV is NCIS. People have spent 11.4 million hours a week streaming NCIS since March 2021. Or, put another way, they watch roughly 11.4 million episodes a week.

And that’s just on streaming. NCIS has also been the most-watched scripted show on live TV for much of the last decade. If it’s the most-watched show on live TV and streaming … that makes it the most popular show in the US by quite a large margin.

A few other notable items from this list:

• Eight of the 10 shows owe most of their viewership to Netflix. Bluey and The Big Bang Theory are the exceptions. Some titles, like Criminal Minds and Suits, have appeared on multiple services. But they show up in the top 10 when they are on Netflix.
• NCIS is one of three shows that originally aired on CBS to make the list (alongside Criminal Minds and The Big Bang Theory). While some in Hollywood bemoan that Netflix is becoming CBS, that is not an insult. It’s a smart strategy.
• Nine of the 10 most-watched streaming programs are reruns. In addition to the three from CBS, there is one from YouTube (CoComelon), one from Canada (Heartland), one from Australia (Bluey) and Suits. The only original series to crack the list is Stranger Things.