The Binge Release Is Alive and Well, and Not Just on Netflix
For all the criticism lobbed against the all-episodes-at-once, or “binge,” release cadence, it remains a prevalent strategy — even outside of Netflix. Of course, the service that pioneered the binge release is still its foremost practitioner. More than 80% of Netflix’s original TV seasons from 2024 to H1 2026 dropped all of their episodes at […]
Why Did Disney ‘Un-Renew’ Wonder Man? Data Offers Clues
In an unusual move, Disney recently decided to “un-renew” Marvel Studios streaming original series Wonder Man — canceling the show after it had already ordered a second season months before. It was a surprising move, to say the least, with even the series creators seemingly caught off guard by the announcement. But a deeper dive into the available viewership data reveals Wonder Man was a […]
The ‘Love Island’ Audience Won’t Stop Growing
In a TV landscape where even massive successes are often shedding viewers from season to season, Peacock’s megahit Love Island USA has defied these trends. After its 2024 and 2025 seasons experienced explosive year-over-year surges in engagement, this year’s edition showed the series still had room to grow. In its first seven weeks of release (covering the week of the […]
Netflix’s YouTube Strategy Isn’t Likely to Solve Its Problems
Saying Netflix is about to look a lot more like YouTube isn’t a snarky comment anymore but a factual statement: Just months after integrating video podcasts, the SVOD service is now adding a raft of content from popular YouTube channels that will exist on both platforms co-exclusively, as well as “some of your favorite videos from around the Internet” […]
Streaming’s New Key to Success: A Season Every Year
The return of two hit series late last month neatly illustrated one of streaming TV’s ongoing issues: the ideal gap between season premieres. Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation dropped its second season June 25 after a more than two-year break (season 1 debuted in February 2024), while Peacock megahit Love Island USA returned for season 8 almost one […]
Streamers Still Haven’t Cracked Content Discovery — Yet
When content discovery on streaming video platforms is discussed, it’s usually in terms of how difficult or bad it is. The challenge in connecting viewers with content they want to watch, but may not think of themselves, is a deep-seated problem streamers have been struggling with since the very start of the streaming wars — […]
Older Content Is Dominating U.S. TV Viewing Time
Luminate’s recent special report Retro Revival illustrated how older music is outpacing recent releases with streaming consumers. But the same is true of film and TV. According to Luminate Streaming Viewership (M), library content consumption has dwarfed that of original titles on streaming platforms by more than a 3-to-1 margin in recent quarters. In the first three […]
Broadcast Shows Have Quietly Become Major Streaming Hits
Given the sheer volume of buzz surrounding the second season of The Pitt, one might assume the HBO Max medical procedural would easily rank as the most-streamed season of television in 2026. But that’s not the case. Newly available data from Luminate Streaming Viewership (M) allows for a fresh look at the streaming landscape, showing that current broadcast […]
The Creator Economy Is Transforming Hollywood Jobs — Not Just Content
Anyone observing Hollywood in recent years has seen the creator economy reshape the entertainment business in myriad ways, from YouTube stars and influencers’ increasingly common presence in traditional film and TV content to TikTok’s rise as a discovery engine for viewers. But the creator economy’s influence on Hollywood may already be even more pervasive than is readily […]
The Data Behind L.A.’s Lagging TV Production
One major factor underlying Los Angeles’ much-discussed production exodus is Hollywood’s ongoing production contraction. Total U.S. TV premieres, as tracked by Luminate, have dropped each year since 2022, which continues to stand as the final high point of peak TV. The problem facing L.A.’s local industry is not just less content being made in the city […]