Breaking down Netflix viewership in 1H25

Netflix viewership rose slightly in the first half of 2025, though underlying engagement trends show mixed signals, according to MoffettNathanson, News.az reports citing BBC.

In a note to clients this week, the firm told investors that “overall engagement grew +1% in 1H25 to 95.2 billion hours,” but noted that “on a per-subscriber level, we estimate this represents a high-single-digit decrease in engagement.”

However, adjusting for the volatility introduced by password-sharing changes, engagement appears more stable. 

“On an owner household basis, stripping out the volatility of password sharing, engagement has been steady over the past 2.5 years,” MoffettNathanson wrote, citing Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s own comments on its second-quarter earnings call.

Series are said to have continued to outpace films in driving viewership. The firm said series viewing rose 4% year over year to 71.1 billion hours, while film viewership declined 7% to 24.1 billion.

“Original series in 1H25 drove the second-highest level of engagement of any half since Netflix started releasing this data in 2023,” analysts said.

Critically, the reception of Netflix’s top shows has improved. “Netflix continues to balance the need of producing a vast amount of content... while also focusing on the quality,” the note stated. 

However, original films have lagged. “The reception to Netflix’s original films remains muted,” analysts added, though they expect improvements in the second half of 2025, helped by recovery from the 2023 Hollywood strikes and recent management changes.

News.Az