Nielsen’s inaugural weekly streaming Top 10 list was dominated by Netflix. Outside of “The Umbrella Academy,” the rest were shows that Netflix acquired to fill out its library and have either finished their runs or air new episodes somewhere else.
Netflix’s adaptation of Gerard Way’s Dark Horse-published comic book series ranked No. 1 for the week of Aug. 3, 2020 through Aug. 9, 2020, with 3.011 billion (yes, Billion) minutes consumed on the streaming platform. Counted in this study are all U.S. TV (so, no laptops, mobile devices) viewers ages 2 and older on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Season 2 of “The Umbrella Academy” was released on July 31, 2020, which helps explain its total domination the following week. “Shameless” was the only other series in the billions of minutes for the measured week. Season 10 of that comedy came to Netflix on July 26.
Below are the Top 10 series for Aug. 3-Aug. 9.
- “The Umbrella Academy” (20 episodes): 3.011 billion minutes
- “Shameless” (120 episodes): 1.125 billion minutes
- “Grey’s Anatomy” (361 episodes): 918 million minutes
- “The Office” (192 episodes): 897 million minutes
- “Criminal Minds” (277 episodes): 697 million minutes
- “NCIS” (353 episodes): 524 million minutes
- “In the Dark” (26 episodes): 418 million minutes
- “Dexter” (96 episodes): 316 million minutes
- “Supernatural” (321 episodes): 315 million minutes
- “Parks and Recreation” (121 episodes): 304 million minutes
All of those shows (and billions of minutes) are from Netflix, which means Amazon’s Prime Video was shut out of the Top 10.
Nielsen hopes to add additional streaming platforms to this metric in the near future. Another goal would be cutting down the lag time from viewing to reporting. Nielsen does not currently measure other streaming services like Hulu or CBS All Access and newcomers Disney+ or HBO Max. (We’d bet Baby Yoda will be popular once again when “The Mandalorian” returns for its second season in October.)
As of June 30, 2020, Netflix had 72.9 million U.S. and Canadian subscribers. (That’s how Netflix reports.) Amazon at last count reported 150 million Prime subscribers in January, though a Prime subscription includes retail perks like free two-day shipping, and doesn’t break out U.S. subs from its global count. Netflix has more than 190 million members around the world.
For comparison’s sake, we looked at Netflix’s own self-curated Top 10 lists, which it puts out daily, as well as weekly. Amazon does not provide similar internal
rankings. While Netflix declined to share its weekly list for the same date range, we looked at a few of the daily lists from the first week of August. As you’ll see below, there are quite a few discrepancies, but Netflix’s methodology is drastically different than Nielsen’s.
For starters, it incorporates far more Netflix originals, something
TheWrap found when we tracked the first month of the streamer’s Top 10 lists. The way Netflix says it counts a view — watching just 2 minutes of a show or film — is the basis for how it creates these daily Top 10 lists. These rankings don’t include any actual viewership data — which is par for the course for Netflix.
Aug. 5
- “The Umbrella Academy”
- “Shameless”
- “Immigration Nation”
- “Sugar Rush”
- “The Last Dance”
- “Moesha”
- “Cursed”
- “Last Chance U”
- “In the Dark”
- “The Office”
As you can see above (and below), when a series either returns for a new season or makes its Netflix debut (whether that be a new series or an acquired original, like the ’90s-era sitcom, “Moehsa”) has a direct correlation to it appearing on Netflix’s list. Part of that is excitement — for example, “Cobra Kai,” the “Karate Kid” sequel that Netflix acquired from YouTube, is the current leader on Netflix’s Top 10 list; the first two seasons became available last week.
Netflix also typically puts its new programming front and center when its users sign in, making them more likely to sample. “Sugar Rush” returned for its third season on July 31, while “Moesha” debuted Aug. 1. The docuseries “Immigration Nation” premiered on Aug. 3.
Aug. 6
- “The Umbrella Academy”
- “Shameless”
- “World’s Most Wanted”
- “Immigration Nation”
- “Sugar Rush”
- “The Last Dance”
- “Moesha”
- “Cursed”
- “The Office”
- “Last Chance U”
Aug. 7
- “The Umbrella Academy”
- “Shameless”
- “World’s Most Wanted”
- “Immigration Nation”
- “Sugar Rush”
- “The Last Dance”
- “Moesha”
- “Cursed”
- “The Office”
- “Last Chance U”
“Selling Sunset” returned for its third season on Aug. 7.
Aug. 9
- “The Umbrella Academy”
- “World’s Most Wanted”
- “The Seven Deadly Sins”
- “Wizards: Tales of Arcadia”
- “Selling Sunset”
- “Shameless”
- “The Last Dance”
- “Immigration Nation”
- “The Rain”
- “Sugar Rush”
