The Nielsen ratings juggernaut is making headlines today with the release of its annual 2023 report on TV streaming viewership data. A few records were made this past year, including one set by the Apple TV+ darling Ted Lasso, in what was likely the show's final season.

Ted Lasso set a new mark for most streaming viewership for an original series with a total of 16.9 billion minutes. Much like AFC Richmond's rise to football prominence in the show's central storyline, news of its streaming success was surprising and impressive, as Variety points out, since Apple TV+ has fewer subscribers than all of the other streaming platforms measured by Nielsen.

However, the ratings win comes with a cautionary note that its viewership total still falls behind the ninth and tenth overall Top 10 streamed shows of 2023 — by almost 6 billion minutes no less! Heartland and Supernatural were tied for the ninth and tenth spots on the overall streaming list, with 22.8 billion minutes watched each.

This means that even though television consumption has largely shifted away from traditional viewing methods like network and cable TV in favor of streaming platforms — the shows viewers are choosing to watch are still largely ones that were developed and first aired on traditional platforms.

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Original shows made for streaming platforms are a distant second in overall popularity.

Does this mean something about the development process at the old-school media outlets is still the best tried-and-true method? Or does it simply mean people were feeling nostalgic in 2023 and looking for something familiar to binge on?

Time will tell, but this Nielsen report certainly suggests the change in how Americans are consuming media does not necessarily mean they want to abandon what they were watching on the broadcast networks. Either way, the success of shows like Ted Lasso at least puts original streaming series in the conversation, and surely has Jason Sudeikis doing the Ted Lasso dance today.