‘Bluey’ Was The Most-Watched Streaming Title Of 2025, Per Nielsen

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If it feels like your household has been streaming more than ever, you’re not imagining things.

Nielsen just confirmed what many parents already suspected: 2025 was the most heavily streamed year on record, and a certain Australian Blue Heeler puppy continues to reign supreme over your living room television.

On Jan. 28, Nielsen announced the winners of the 2025 ARTEY Awards, the company’s second annual recognition celebrating the shows and movies that dominated streaming platforms.

The numbers are staggering—and if you’re a parent juggling multiple streaming subscriptions while trying to manage screen time, they might also feel surprisingly validating.

The world is streaming more than ever before

Here’s the headline number that puts everything in perspective: According to Nielsen, audiences spent an estimated 16.7 trillion minutes streaming in 2025.

Let that sink in for a moment. That’s equivalent to about 277.6 billion hours, 11.6 billion days, and over 31.7 million years of collective streaming time.

It also represents an increase of 19% in time spent streaming compared to 2024, which totaled nearly 14 trillion minutes. For parents who feel like the television has become a more central fixture in family life, these statistics confirm a broader cultural shift.

Streaming isn’t just entertainment anymore—it’s become woven into the fabric of how families spend time together, how kids unwind after school, and yes, how parents occasionally buy themselves 20 minutes of peace to make dinner.

The ARTEY Awards—named after Nielsen’s founder, Arthur C. Nielsen — are a moment to “recognize TV’s powerful ability to engage and resonate with broad and diverse audiences, and celebrate what truly defines the cultural conversation,” per Nielsen.

The acronym stands for “Audience Rated Television Entertainment of the Year.”

And what’s defining the cultural conversation in households with children? You already know the answer.

Bluey remains the undisputed streaming champion

For the second consecutive year, Bluey has claimed the title of most-watched streaming title overall and most-watched acquired title.

The beloved animated series accumulated 45.2 billion minutes of streaming on Disney+, which was 4.3 billion more minutes than Grey’s Anatomy (40.9 billion minutes).

Let that comparison settle in: a children’s show about a family of animated dogs in Brisbane, Australia, outperformed one of the most successful medical dramas in television history.

That’s not just impressive—it speaks to the unique position Bluey occupies in family viewing habits.

Plus, it follows Bluey’s historical win last year with 55.62 billion minutes, per Nielsen.

While the 2025 numbers represent a decrease from that peak, the show’s continued dominance demonstrates remarkable staying power in an entertainment landscape where children’s attention can be notoriously fickle.

For parents, Bluey’s sustained popularity likely comes as no surprise.

The show has earned a reputation for being genuinely enjoyable for adults, with storylines that explore parenting challenges, family dynamics, and emotional intelligence in ways that resonate across generations.

A new kids’ phenomenon emerges on Netflix

While Bluey maintains its throne in overall streaming, a new contender emerged in the kids’ movie category that parents should have on their radar: KPop Demon Hunters.

This year marked the first time Nielsen separated its movie category into two audiences—kids and general—providing clearer insight into what families are actually watching together.

Despite being classified as a kids movie, KPop Demon Hunters appealed to people of all ages and became a cultural phenomenon following its premiere on Netflix in June.

The film charted in the Streaming Top 10 for 25 consecutive weeks—a remarkable achievement for any title, let alone one marketed primarily to younger audiences.

The numbers tell the story: KPop Demon Hunters accumulated a total of 20.5 billion minutes watched on Netflix, dramatically outperforming Moana 2 with just 9.4 billion minutes on Disney+.

For parents trying to find content the whole family can enjoy together, this kind of crossover appeal represents the holy grail of streaming selections.

What the adults are watching (when the kids go to bed)

2208874658 nielsen streaming services tv remote — Photo by FRED TANNEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Once bedtime hits and parents reclaim the remote, what’s dominating their viewing? The data reveals some interesting patterns.

Stranger Things claimed the Top Streaming Original award, accumulating 40.08 billion minutes on Netflix thanks to the release of its final season.

The season came out in three parts—first four episodes on Nov. 26, next three episodes on Dec. 25, and the finale on Dec. 31. Notably, Nielsen’s 2025 calendar ended on Dec. 28, so those numbers don’t even reflect the finale.

In fact, a remarkable 65% of its total watch time (25.1 billion minutes) came from that highly-anticipated five-week period at the end of the year.

The show outperformed Netflix’s Squid Game, which had 22.2 billion minutes of streaming on Netflix last year.

In the general audience movie category, Happy Gilmore 2 took the crown with 7.1 billion minutes watched.

The film debuted on Netflix at the end of July 2025 and immediately set a new weekly viewing record for a streaming movie, per Nielsen. Wicked was the runner-up with 6.8 billion minutes on Peacock and Prime Video.

The binge-watching award goes to… Gunsmoke?

Here’s a surprising twist that might resonate with parents who’ve noticed grandparents’ viewing habits.

Gunsmoke won the Most-Binged Title award.

The classic Western more than doubled its total minutes from 2024 (10.2 billion to 22.5 billion) and averaged a whopping 241 episodes per viewer.

For context, the show — which originally aired from 1955 to 1975 — has a total of 404 episodes available to stream on Paramount+, Pluto and Peacock.

American Dad! finished 2025 as the runner-up with 143 episodes per viewer on Hulu.

This category highlights an interesting dynamic in streaming households.

While kids might be driving Bluey numbers, other family members—perhaps grandparents visiting or older relatives—are contributing their own substantial viewing minutes to household totals.

A new award recognizes streaming royalty

This year’s awards included the inaugural ARTEY for Streaming Icon of the Year, which “recognizes a creator, actor, producer or writer whose vast body of work drives significant, sustained viewership across platforms,” per Nielsen.

The winner? Seth MacFarlane, whose catalog of TV series and films generated more than 60 billion viewing minutes across all platforms.

To put that into perspective, it equates to roughly 116,000 years of time spent streaming in 2025 alone.

His best-performing shows include Family Guy (ranked as 7th most-watched streaming title in 2025) and American Dad! (No. 3 most-watched adult animation streaming title in 2025).

MacFarlane’s acceptance was characteristically self-deprecating.

“I want to thank Nielsen for this Streaming Icon Award,” he said, per Nielsen It’s a high honor to receive the first prize in show business that isn’t determined by quality.”

Rounding out the ARTEY Award winners: The Pitt won Top New Original - Drama with 11.4 billion minutes, Running Point claimed Top New Original - Comedy with 5.1 billion minutes, and Sean Combs: The Reckoning took Top New Original - Unscripted with 4.8 billion minutes.

What this means for your family's household

For streaming-savvy parents managing subscriptions and screen time, these numbers offer useful perspective.

The 19% increase in overall streaming suggests that if your family’s viewing has crept upward, you’re part of a much larger trend.

The continued dominance of quality kids’ programming like Bluey and crossover hits like KPop Demon Hunters indicates that investing in family-friendly streaming services continues to deliver value.

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And if you’re feeling guilty about how much Bluey your household has consumed? Take comfort in knowing you contributed to 45.2 billion minutes of collective viewing—and you’re definitely not alone.