Library titles, Netflix rule first half of 2026 viewing
Library titles, Netflix rule first half of 2026 viewing
New data from Luminate offers insights into what people were streaming in the first six months of the year.
The first half of 2026 has come and gone, which gives us the chance to look back on the first six months of the year to see what people were watching. A new report from Luminate does just that; the report found that while Netflix was the streamer of choice for viewers who sought original content in the first half of the year, people were more often engaging with library titles.
Key Details:
- Over half: Netflix accounted for 57% of streaming original viewing in the first half of 2026.
- Go to the library: Library titles drew 22 billion viewing minutes in the second quarter of the year.
- Not so great: Podcasts are off to a slow start on Netflix thus far.
Luminate’s data found that, when it came to original viewership, Netflix continued to dominate its peers in the first half of 2026. The streamer owned 57% of original viewing time during that span, a figure no other streaming service even came close to matching.
Prime Video was second in share of original viewership at 11%, and Hulu came in third with 7%. Consumption of originals overall slipped slightly year over year; in the first half of 2025, original shows and films compiled 14.1 billion streaming minutes, versus 13.6 billion minutes in 1H 2026.
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Overall, audiences are streaming far more library titles than they are originals, however. Luminate’s data found that, altogether, library TV and movie titles were streamed for around 28 billion minutes — more than double the amount of time spent with originals.
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The overwhelming tilt toward library titles shouldn’t be a major surprise; after all, there are thousands more of these shows and movies available than there are originals. As found by Samsung Ads earlier this year, viewers are turning to free streamers to find older titles quite frequently in order to supplement their paid subscriptions and stretch their entertainment budgets.
Netflix’s dominance in original viewership hasn’t stopped the streamer from expanding into new content areas. The streamer launched a selection of podcasts to compete with YouTube in early 2026, but per Luminate, viewers have been slow to adopt these podcasts so far.
Per the data, the streamer’s most popular podcast so far is “The Breakfast Club.” Viewership on TVs has been sluggish so far; Luminate’s data shows that the daily viewing audience for “The Breakfast Club” on Netflix stands at less than 2,000, though this figure does not account for any viewing on mobile devices.
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The data serves as perhaps another warning to Netflix that trying to become more like YouTube is a bridge to nowhere in the end. Recent data from Ampere showed that viewers think of platforms like Netflix and YouTube as serving different needs, and while audience opinions can change, it’s clear the streamer faces an uphill battle to bring viewers to its podcast content.
No convincing is needed to get more viewers to Netflix’s original titles, as Luminate’s survey makes clear. Library content is the most-streamed type overall, but as long as Netflix continues to produce high-quality originals at its current rate, it will hold an important place in the hearts of audiences.
Netflix
Netflix is a leading subscription-based video streaming service that offers on-demand access to an extensive library of over 3,000 movies, 2,000+ TV shows, and a growing collection of acclaimed Netflix originals. Renowned for producing groundbreaking content, Netflix has become a cultural powerhouse with hit originals like “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “The Crown,” “Tiger King,” “Bridgerton,” “The Witcher,” and “Black Mirror.”