Netflix shows generate the most viewership – comprising 93 percent of the weekly top 10 lists since August 3 – but the binge release model has its limits.
Early next year, Netflix no longer has any rights to it The office while NBCUniversal’s Peacock becomes the exclusive streaming outlet for the much-loved comedy. It’s a big loss for Netflix in a way, given that the series accounts for billions of minutes of viewing time on the service. But then again, maybe Netflix users will just switch to the other acquired shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds or Schitt’s Creek, all of which are mainstays in Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings.
A Hollywood Reporter Analysis of 15 weeks of data from the new, closely watched Top 10 Streaming chart from the Nielsen ratings service shows the enduring power of Netflix’s deep library – and the boom-and-bust cycle of the binge release model.
Nielsen began its streaming programming rankings the week of August 3-9, and Netflix dominated the top 10 to date (currently, the rankings cover Amazon Prime Video, Disney +, Hulu, and Netflix, with other streamers coming up). Of the 150 possible spots in the week of November 9-15, Netflix occupied 139 of them – 93 percent.
Of those 139 slots, more than half were occupied by five Netflix-acquired shows: The office, Grey’s Anatomy and Criminal Minds made the top 10 in all 15 weeks, NCIS was in that 11 times and Schitt’s Creek was there for eight, including three weeks at No. 1 – the only acquired show to top the rankings. Shameless has appeared seven times.
On average, acquired shows occupy six slots in the top 10 per week, compared to four for original series. In none of the 15 weeks of rankings did originals make up more than half of the list. (In turn, streaming platforms have repeatedly stated that Nielsen’s methodology does not cover all viewers on devices other than televisions, nor does the rankings, which cater to US viewers only, measure viewers in other countries.)
Nielsen ranks streaming shows by total minutes of watch time for all episodes, so series with extensive libraries have a bit of an advantage. Several original movies, including Disney + ‘s Mulan, From Netflix Project Power and Enola Holmes and Amazon’s Borat Later film film, have made it to the list, and a trio of series that follow weekly release models have enjoyed quite long runs in the rankings.
Amazon’s comic series The boys was in the top 10 for six weeks in September and October and linked Netflix Match for the longest run to date for an original series. The Great British Baking Show, the episodes of which will premiere weekly on Netflix after airing in the UK, is after five weeks and the first three weeks of The Mandalorianseason two on Disney + are all in third place. (Streaming rankings are a few weeks behind schedule, so the Baking show and The Mandalorian may end with equally long streaks once the ends of their seasons are registered.)
However, the top 10 lifespan of a series binge release is shorter. Over the 15 weeks of Nielsen’s rankings, the average show released in a block only lasts three weeks on the list. The Umbrella Academy had the most watched week of all streaming shows, with Netflix users watching 3 billion minutes in the week of August 3-9, just after the second season debuted. It had been dropped off the list in early September. In contrast to, The boys – which first appeared on the map this week The Umbrella Academy fell off – fell just 38 percent from its peak in the week of September 7-13 to its low three weeks later, rising again during the following week of the second season finale. That’s not to say the weekly release model necessarily works better for streaming shows: The Umbrella Academy achieved more viewing time in the top 10 (6.67 billion minutes) in the four weeks than The boys did in six weeks (4.8 billion).
Still, the 15 weeks of Nielsen streaming rankings confirm Netflix’s early streaming advantage over its rivals. As of now, the service’s healthy subscriber edge in the US and robust content pipeline dominate the lion’s share of streaming users’ time.
This story first appeared in the December 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to sign up.