Moviefone Editorial

Tag: ratings

  • Nielsen Confirms ‘Stranger Things 3’ Really Was a Big Hit

    Nielsen Confirms ‘Stranger Things 3’ Really Was a Big Hit

    Netflix

    Yes, all the people watched “Stranger Things 3” over the July 4 holiday weekend.

    Netflix claimed the show broke viewership records at the streaming service, tweeting, “40.7 million household accounts have been watching the show since its July 4 global launch — more than any other film or series in its first four days.” But there’s no way to verify Netflix’s data.

    Now, Nielsen is stepping in to confirm the boast with its streaming video on demand ratings. The eight episodes of “Stranger Things 3” had average minute audience — the closest thing to linear TV average viewership — of 12.8 million viewers over its first four days of release.

    That represents a 21 percent increase over the same time period after the release of Season 2 in October 2017 (10.6 million viewers).

    The first episode was watched by 19.17 million viewers in the first four days, and six of the eight episodes passed 10 million viewers over the long weekend. The least-watched episode was number seven, “The Bite.”

    Some 824,000 people binged the entire season on the day of the premiere, up from 361,000 for the first day of Season 2 (though that was not a holiday).

    Nielsen’s SVOD ratings measure viewing only on TV sets only, so they don’t take into account people who watch on other devices or viewers in other countries.

  • ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 Already Has Huge Viewership, According to Nielsen Data

    Well done, “Stranger Things” fans: Thanks to you, Season 2’s early viewership is already impressive.

    Yes, “Stranger Things” seems to have done it again. Nielsen released numbers on Thursday showing that Season 2 got off to an excellent start in its first three days, starting with its Oct. 27 premiere. Not surprisingly, the figures are as strong as Eleven’s telekinetic abilities.

    The data finds that more than 15.8 million people watched the first episode within the first three days, and the episodes averaged more than 4 million viewers each over the same time period, according to Variety. On top of that, there was a lot of binge-watching; 361,000 finished the entire nine-episode season in the first 24 hours.

    That said, it’s important to know that Netflix hasn’t put much stock in Nielsen’s streaming numbers in the past. When Nielsen announced in mid-October that it would track viewership for TV episodes streaming on Netflix, the streamer described the data as “not even close” and “not accurate,” according to Variety. That makes it hard to say how much weight we should give the “Stranger Things” numbers.

    Whatever the exact numbers may be, though, Season 2 has gotten quite a reaction so far — just look at any social media site.

    [via: Variety]

  • ‘The Walking Dead’: AMC CEO Says Show Is ‘Alive and Vital’ Despite Ratings Slide

    Say what you will about “The Walking Dead” Season 7’s ratings dip, but AMC isn’t worried.

    The most recent season of the horror drama series didn’t bring in the ratings the network has become accustomed to in recent years, but CEO Josh Sapan made it clear Thursday that he has faith in “The Walking Dead” and doesn’t see it going anywhere anytime soon. He wrote off the drop as “some minor erosion” while speaking to analysts, THR reports.

    “It’s pretty alive and vital,” he said of the show, “and there’s a long time that we’re going to be playing with ‘The Walking Dead.’”

    Sapan’s reassurances are valid. Although Season 7’s ratings did rank below all but the first two seasons of the show, according to Deadline, it still made an impressive showing. The Season 7 finale, for example, topped its competition that week. On top of that, viewership for the season as a whole beat out popular series like “Empire” and “The Big Bang Theory,” according to Sapan. He doesn’t seem to have any qualms about the show’s upcoming eighth season.

    Rest assured: This definitely isn’t the ratings version of the zombie apocalypse.

    [via: THR]

  • Why Did the 2016 Emmy Awards Have the Lowest Ratings Ever?

    Sorry, Rami Malek, it sounds like a lot of people weren’t seeing what you saw at the 2016 Emmy Awards.

    This past Sunday, “Game of Thrones” made history, Maggie Smith got dragged, the “Stranger Things” kids sang and delivered sandwiches, and Kit Harington hit on Kyle Chandler. But only a few of us were around to watch. Why?

    Just a few years ago, in 2013, the Emmy Awards hit a 10-year peak of 17.7 million viewers on CBS. This year, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel-hosted event had the lowest ratings yet. According to TV by the Numbers, the final tally for the 68th annual Emmy Awards was an average of 11.38 million viewers and a 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic. That’s down from last year’s 11.9 million on Fox, which was previously the least-watched Emmys.

    The good news is that around 26 million people watched some portion of the three-hour show, Nielsen data showed (via CNN), so maybe it would just help to know which portions and why.What’s to blame for the downturn? Was Jimmy Kimmel not enough of a draw as host? “Game of Thrones” and “The People v O.J. Simpson” too obviously set up for wins? No built-in drama to draw fans away from other shows?

    The most obvious reason that explains at least some of the dip is Sunday Night Football. NBC’s game covered roughly the same amount of time as the Emmys and took in 22.75 million viewers with an 8.2 rating. Also, CBS found itself a hit with Part 1 of “The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey,” earning around 11 million viewers and a 2.1 rating.

    Maybe football and the JonBenet special just seemed like more must-watch TV than the Emmys, which are always followed by winners lists and roundups of the best and worst moments, so anyone who is curious can just Google after-the-fact to quickly see what they missed. (Speaking of that, here is the winner’s list, and here are the best and worst moments. You’re welcome!)68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - ShowWhat does this mean going forward? The 2016 Oscars were down too, despite or because of controversy, but that show still pulls in bigger numbers, like 34.4 million viewers. It’s not too shabby to still get 11 million people to watch an awards show, so there may not be much course-correcting needed for the 2017 Emmys. And it’s not like they can really control who is nominated. (Or can they?)

    “Game of Thrones” will open the door for others next year, since the later premiere of Season 7 means the HBO flagship series will be ineligible for the 2017 Emmys. That should at least bring more surprises to the show, if not more viewers.

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  • ‘The People v. O.J. Simpson’ Is Cable’s Most-Watched New Series of 2016

    FX miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” finished its stellar 10-week run to critical acclaim and audience adoration, and now, it can add another feather to its cap: It’s also the year’s most-watched new series on cable.

    According to Nielsen numbers, the show was especially impressive among advertiser-coveted demographics. Throughout its first eight weeks, it was averaging 7.5 million viewers per episode in live plus-7 numbers, making it the most-watched program on Tuesday nights among 18-34-year-olds, and the second (behind NBC’s “The Voice”) among 18-49-year-olds. And according to Variety, “Among all scripted dramas to have aired multiple times this spring, the FX series ranks second in adults 18-49 on cable (behind only AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’) and seventh overall, according to Nielsen’s ‘live plus-3’ estimates.”

    In addition to those episode-by-episode estimates, the series also averaged 12.7 million weekly viewers throughout its first eight weeks among combined linear and non-linear audiences (a.k.a. those who watched it live, and those who watched it via DVR, on demand, or streaming). FX has yet to crunch the numbers for the final two “O.J.” episodes, but the show’s success so far indicates that that 12.7 million average will likely rise to accommodate for additional non-linear views.

    That’s great news for the cable network, which pumped a lot of resources into the program, including landing a starry cast that featured Cuba Gooding Jr., John Travolta, Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance, Nathan Lane, Sterling K. Brown, and David Schwimmer. Executive producer Ryan Murphy is known for splashy television; with “O.J.,” he also delivered quality programming, too.

    The next season of “American Crime Story” will be set around the events of Hurricane Katrina. No airdate has been announced yet.

    [via: Variety]

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  • ‘Empire’ Season 2 Premieres to Second-Highest Ratings Ever

    Empire season 2“Empire” is back, and as big as ever. Wednesday night’s season 2 premiere was watched by 16 million viewers and notched a 6.5 rating in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic. Those numbers are just short of the season 1 finale record.

    “Empire” stunned the industry earlier this year, when its ratings climbed week over week for the entire season — an unheard-of feat, particularly in this era of fragmented television viewership.

    Fox is likely breathing a huge sigh of relief that “Empire” didn’t suffer a sophomore slump, as many series do. And it’s a very bright spot in a somewhat disappointing premiere week, with the network’s “Minority Report” and “Scream Queens” debuting to soft numbers.

    Whether “Empire” can match its tremendous first season growth, though, is another question. But even if it merely maintains these numbers, it’ll be one of the rare blockbuster TV hits of the last few years. Fox is certainly capitalizing on that — ads in the season 2 premiere reportedly went for $750,000, a peak “American Idol”-like figure.

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  • ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Ratings Rise for Major Death, But Will They Drop Next Week?

    It’s one thing to get big numbers for a “shocking” episode, but what happens if fans are so turned off by the big event that they don’t stay tuned to see what happens next? “Grey’s Anatomy” may or may not find out next week. Will just as many (or even more?) fans watch to see the fallout from Dr. Derek Shepherd’s (Patrick Dempsey) death or give up on the show in protest?

    At any rate, ABC seems pretty happy right now, since Thursday’s big episode gave “Grey’s” the biggest audience since the September 2014 Season 11 premiere. Last night’s show averaged a 2.8 rating/10 share in that all-important 18-49 demographic, with 9.4 million viewers overall in the 8 p.m. hour. “Grey’s” was up 33 percent in 18-49 from last week and, ABC crowed, the drama was also up “sharply” over its year-ago May sweeps telecast in the 9 p.m. hour (7.7 million and 2.3/7 on 4/24/14) in viewers (+23%) and young adults (+22%).

    But can they sustain that high when so many fans seem frustrated about the writing of Derek’s departure? He’s not the only character to suffer a questionable on-screen death, but “Grey’s” has been on the air for 10 years and Derek has been one of the main stars the whole time; it’s not quite the same as, say, fans getting upset at the random death of Beth Greene on “The Walking Dead.”

    “Grey’s” next two episodes, “She’s Leaving Home” Parts 1 and 2, air April 30. Then “Time Stops” in Episode 24 and “You’re My Home” ends the season on May 14. We’ll have to wait and see how viewers react to this news, since it could go either way.
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