Top-Rated Broadcast Series
In the 2021-2022 U.S. television season, NBC's "This Is Us" remained among the highest-rated broadcast dramas, while CBS's "NCIS" led in total viewership for several consecutive weeks. Nielsen reported that live-plus-same-day ratings for major broadcast dramas and comedies stayed stable despite increased competition from streaming services Nielsen.
ABC's "The Good Doctor" and "Grey's Anatomy" continued to draw large audiences, while Fox's "9-1-1" ranked high among non-scripted dramas. These series consistently placed in the top weekly rankings for total viewers and the key 18-49 demographic Forbes.
Leading Streaming Series
Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 4 became one of the most-watched English-language series launches on the platform in 2022, driving a temporary increase in global subscriber engagement. The streaming service reported strong viewership hours for the season within its first few weeks of release Netflix.
Disney+ expanded its catalog with Marvel series including "Ms. Marvel" and "Moon Knight," while HBO Max continued to grow its lineup with "House of the Dragon," a prequel to "Game of Thrones." Warner Bros. Discovery reported that the premiere of "House of the Dragon" became the service's largest-ever U.S. debut for a new series SEC.
Audience and Platform Trends
Viewership Measurement
In 2022, Nielsen introduced streaming-specific ratings that counted minutes viewed on services such as Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max alongside traditional broadcast and cable programs. These metrics showed that serialized dramas and event-style premieres drove the largest single-week viewing spikes across platforms Nielsen.
Advertising and Demand
Ad-supported tiers launched by Netflix and Disney+ in 2022 created new inventory for marketers, with advertisers targeting popular series to reach large audiences across both ad-free and ad-supported tiers. Parrot Analytics measured demand expressions for top titles and found that franchises and established IP continued to generate the highest audience demand Parrot Analytics.