The Real ‘Heated Rivalry’: The Competitive State of Streaming Originals

Key Highlights

• And as Luminate explores in depth in its newly released “Film & TV Year-End Report,” the previous 12 months saw no shortage of surprising trends that emerged.
• Here’s five of the biggest surprises discussed in the latest episode of the Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” featuring a conversation with the report’s lead author, Luminate analyst Tyler Aquilina.
• Related Stories CES Takeaways: The Promise and Peril of AI, the Power of Sports and Audacity of Next-Generation Creators Is Transforming Media and Entertainment Key Takeaways From Variety's Business of Creators Summit at CES 2026 The total volume of original content consumption on the leading streaming platforms in the U. S.
• spiked over 2024.
• After plateauing for several consecutive years between 21 and 22 billion hours watched, 2025 saw a sizable 18% year-over-year jump—21% by series alone.