After Netflix released mere morsels of its data just days ago, the Nielsen ratings service is swooping in and offering more.
According to USA Today, the audience measurement service used its “people-meter” technology to discover just how many people are watching Netflix‘s movies, original series, and reruns of older series. And with only 59 percent of U.S. homes boasting the streaming service, the findings are impressive.
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According to the data, which is entirely supported by Nielsen, House of Cards, Fuller House, and Marvel’s The Defenders encompass a wide audience, which supports Netflix’s claims that they are some of the most binge-watched shows.
“The more we look at the data, the more personally I’m surprised at how big some of the numbers are, particularly when you put it in the context of linear television,” Nielsen senior Vice President Brian Fuhrer said, who is also expecting Nielsen to begin measuring viewership on other streaming services.
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As for the shows mentioned, Marvel’s The Defenders brought in an average of 6.1 million viewers in the week following its premiere, while House of Cards and Fuller House each averaged 4.6 million viewers for season premieres. In the 18-49 age group, which is often considered the most important age range for viewership ratings, all eight episodes of Defenders ranked in the top 20, while four of House of Cards’ episodes ranked in the top 20.
The data also looked at who’s watching what and what they’re watching it on.
Fuller House, which is primarily watched on smart TVs, has an audience composed of a majority of females. House of Cards, watched most often on tablets and mobile devices, has a spilt audience of both men and women. Meanwhile, Marvel’s The Defenders, whose audience is mostly male, is also mainly viewed on video game consoles.
While the data provided is small, it’s giving insight into the streaming service that hasn’t before been revealed, and it may change the way in which studios and networks license shows to streaming services.
