As streaming platforms intensify competition for attention, U.S. audiences are turning increasingly to the past. According to Digital i’s new report “Nostalgia on Demand,” 37% of viewing time by U.S. subscribers to Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video in the first half of 2025 was spent on series that originally aired more than 10 years ago. This marks a significant rise from 32% in H1 2021, highlighting a growing consumer appetite for familiar titles in an era of content overload.
The report, based on viewing data from January 2021 to June 2025, shows that long-tail and library content play an outsized role in engagement. Titles that premiered two or more years prior consistently represented no less than 68% of total viewing time over the measured period, peaking at 80% during some half-year windows. These findings underline the strategic value of back-catalog licensing in subscriber retention and time-on-platform metrics.
“Grey’s Anatomy” emerged as the most-watched title across the services during this timeframe, amassing 3.5 billion hours of viewing from 432 episodes—an average of 8.1 million hours per episode. Meanwhile, “Stranger Things,” despite having only 34 episodes, brought in a staggering 1.7 billion hours, averaging 49.4 million hours per episode. It was the only streaming original in the top 10 by hours viewed, with all others being licensed series.
Comedy remains a dominant genre among older content. In H1 2025, 37% of U.S. viewing time to content launched before 2020 was spent on comedies. Internationally, the viewing behavior contrasts with notable regional differences: South Korean subscribers dedicated just 16% of their streaming time to content released in 2016 or earlier, compared to 42% in the Nordics, indicating regional preferences in content lifecycle value.
The report further points to implications for rights holders, distributors, and commissioning executives. As the demand for library titles grows, so does the potential for monetization across both domestic and international markets. With U.S. viewers increasingly gravitating toward shows they know and love, platforms may find renewed value in reviving classic IPs or acquiring evergreen catalogues.
The full findings of the “Nostalgia on Demand” report will be discussed at Mipcom in Cannes, where Digital i is scheduled to present “The Global Viewer Journey: From SVOD to YouTube and Back Again” at the MIP Innovation Lab on Wednesday, 15 October at 9:30 a.m.
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