Squid Game, The Simpsons top drivers of new subs

Squid Game, The Last of Us and The Simpsons were among key subscriber drivers for streamers over the first half of 2025, according to exclusive data seen by Broadcast International.

Figures from research company Digital i revealed that Squid Game was watched by 916,000 new Netflix subscribers (those who had never held an account before), while 496,000 new Disney+ subscribers chose to watch The Simpsons first following sign-up.

The data reflects usage in 20 of the biggest markets and gives an indication as to what shows are driving customers to sign up. The markets analysed include the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Japan, South Korea and Australia.

The three seasons of Squid Game attracted almost triple the number of new subscribers compared with Netflix’s second-most picked show, WWE Monday Night RAW.

The wrestling show attracted 314,000 subscribers who made it their first viewing choice after signing up, while Korean romance drama When Life Gives You Tangerines stood at 312,000.

The power of veteran programming was a key driver for Disney+, which saw long-running Shondaland series Grey’s Anatomy chosen by 427,000 new subscribers, coming second to The Simpsons.

Daredevil: Born Again rounded out the top three for Disney+, with 372,000 new subscribers watching the Marvel series that debuted earlier this year.

The Last of Us was by far the most popular show for HBO Max’s new subscribers, with 441,000 choosing it as their first series to watch.

The White Lotus came in second on 190,000, with Game of Thrones – not the more recent House of The Dragon – coming in third on 139,000.

Elsewhere, 189,000 new subscribers to Amazon Prime Video – albeit a different sort of service – watched Invincible first, followed by Reacher (167,000) and hit movie Conclave (100,000).

Netflix’s original reliance

The importance of Squid Game underlines the power of original programming to Netflix, with 47% of its viewing in H1 2025 being streaming originals.

The data found that 28.52bn hours of originals were watched on Netflix versus almost 32bn hours of acquired/legacy content, far more than its rivals.

There was 5.75bn hours of acquired/legacy content watched on Disney+ versus just 1.97bn of its originals, reflecting a 76%-24% skew.

HBO Max’s originals made up 66% of viewing time with 4.64bn hours, against 34% – or 2.38bn hours – of acquired content.

Amazon Prime Video was most reliant on acquired shows, with 12.33bn hours watched versus 3.80bn hours of originals, a 76%-24% split.

Digital i analyst, Elena Mozzato, said: “Our latest research shows the incredible value of both original and library programming for global streamers in attracting new subscribers to their services, with Netflix’s push into live sports also standing out as a success as one of its biggest sign-up drivers during the first half of this year.”