According to new research, the ratings for Netflix’s series “Orange is the New Black” rival that of HBO’s popular drama “Game of Thrones.” On Wednesday, Nielsen unveiled its first findings on viewership of TV shows on streaming services such as Netflix, and provided the data to media partners at a conference in Las Vegas. The information is being shared privately with the studios except for the information that is agreed upon to be released widely, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Upon the release of season four of OITNB on Netflix, the show “was watched by 6.7 million people between June 17 and June 19 – the first three days that season four of the show was available.” For the episode of “Game of Thrones” that aired on that same week on June 19, the show garnered 7.6 million viewers. According to TV by the Numbers, if “Orange is the New Black” was measured against all cable television shows, it would have been the second most-watched show during the week of June 13 to June 19, coming in second to “Game of Thrones.”
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While OITNB may rival hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” the shows that air on the four major networks are still leading by quite a large margin. “Shows like CBS’s ‘NCIS,’ ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and Fox’s ‘Empire’ routinely top the 10 million-viewer mark on a weekly basis,” according to KTNV.
These new Nielsen ratings have shed some light on exactly how successful some of the more popular streaming shows have become, and the results indicate that these shows would likely be just as popular on regular networks. Netflix even argues that is unfair to conduct the ratings on their shows because the company does not sell advertising. Netflix mentioned that online viewing is “all on-demand and stretches over longer time frames.” While Nielsen’s figures only reflect U.S. viewing, the results seem to be favorable for the streaming services. Also worth noting, Nielsen is reportedly only tracking streaming data for the TV studios that choose to be a part of the study.
The new data may also provide valuable insights for the tv studios that periodically negotiate with the streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu in regards to the licensing fees for their shows.
Do you think some of your favorite streaming shows would be just as successful on one of the four major networks?
