Analysis: US viewer retention rising across SVoDs
May 6, 2026
Data from Digital i reveals that US streaming subscribers are increasingly committed to finishing new series.
View-through rates (ie the average percentage of a season viewed by the audience) for the most-watched content reached a three-year high in 2025, driven by significant gains in viewer retention on Disney+.
Digital i analysed the view-through rates (VTR) of the top 100 most-watched season one titles that launched on Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Prime Video in the US between January 2023 and December 2025. The analysis measured debut seasons that contained a minimum of six episodes and a maximum of 15 episodes and recorded VTR for the first six months of release.
Digital i recorded a clear upward trend in how successfully the four measured streamers – Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Prime Video – are hooking their US subscribers. In 2025, viewers of those services watched an average of 54.3 per cent of season 1 of a new title, up from 52.6 per cent in 2023.
While this increase may seem minor, in a market as large as the US and incorporating four SVoD services, this represents millions of subscribers watching more episodes of new series than they would have previously, explained Digital i.
Disney+ was the primary driver of this growth, with the average season one VTR for US Disney+ subscribers rising from 49.1 per cent in 2023 to 57.3 per cent in 2025. The Star Wars franchise was a big draw for the service, with viewers watching 82.4 per cent of the first season of Tales of the Empire and 82.2 per cent of The Acolyte, while Zombies: The Re-Animated Series Shorts took third place with 78.6 per cent.
HBO Max experienced a modest rise from 51.1 per cent to 54.2 per cent, with 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing achieving the highest average VTR of 85.7 per cent, while IT: Welcome to Derry and Creature Commandos were tied with an average VTR of 75.5 per cent.
Netflix also saw an average increase from 54.1 per cent to 56.5 per cent in that same period. Viewers of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story watching 84.1 per cent of its first season, while The Perfect Couple and The Night Agent were also big titles for audience retention, with viewers watching 79 per cent and 78.8 per cent of their first seasons, respectively.
In contrast, Prime Video was the only service among the four to see a decline, with its average view-through rate dipping from 50.1 per cent in 2023 to 46.1 per cent in 2025. Nevertheless, the average Marie Antoinette viewer watched 87.5 per cent of the first season, followed by Wilderness with 76 per cent and, on average, viewers of Fallout (pictured) watched 75.2 per cent of the first season.
As a streaming service bundled with a retail subscription, Prime Video has a much higher number of passive subscribers than other SVoDs. This means that hit shows can reach high numbers of subscribers, while average engagement per user is lower due to the number of inactive or infrequent viewers of Prime Video.
