January rarely allows for a soft landing, and this year streaming entered the new calendar under immediate pressure. Awards-season contention, franchise returns, and live events collided at a moment when audiences were already selective, forcing services to be deliberate about what they put forward – and how often. The January U.S. Streamer of the Month report shows which streamers converted that focus into the strongest visibility gains.
Prestige carried real weight in January. HBO Max set the pace with awards-adjacent releases that consistently surfaced across home screens, reinforcing how scale and critical relevance can combine to dominate early-year attention. Elsewhere, Peacock leaned into awards momentum of its own, elevating select titles to remain competitive during a month when discovery is earned, not given. How these strategies shaped the month’s promotional hierarchy is detailed in the January U.S. Streamer of the Month report.
Rather than serving as filler between scripted launches, reality competition returned as a frontline strategy. New seasons of The Traitors and Beast Games secured sustained, high-visibility placement across multiple devices, signalling a clear belief in eventised unscripted formats to command attention when audiences are most selective. Scripted franchises also reasserted themselves, with HBO Max stepping back into Westeros as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms surfaced across U.S. home screens as a statement release rather than a routine debut.
The month also carried wider implications beyond individual launches. Consolidation conversations, licensing power plays, and record-setting playoff audiences all pointed to an industry increasingly shaped by scale, exclusivity, and long-term leverage. January didn’t just set the tone for programming – it reflected how competitive pressure is now applied across content, rights, and distribution alike.
So which streamers applied pressure most effectively, which titles stayed visible longest, and who started 2026 with momentum on their side? Full rankings, device-level analysis, and industry insights are available in the January U.S. Streamer of the Month report.
Across all of it, January made clear that early-year success depends less on volume and more on how deliberately titles are positioned, sustained, and resurfaced across connected TV home screens and digital storefronts.
January also made room for a quieter kind of moment. A coordinated tribute to Catherine O’Hara saw Schitt’s Creek resurface prominently across U.S. home screens, with curated rails and homepage features offering a quiet reminder of how enduring great performances can be.
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