'You' leads streaming for Netflix, but more companies scoring hits
Jesse Grant/Getty Images Entertainment
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) continued to ride its giant user base to the top of streaming-minute rankings, but more streamers than ever are showing up with some top content, in a sign of growing diversity.
You (NFLX) repeated as the top program in Nielsen's most recent weekly streaming ratings (for March 13-19), thanks to the back half release of its fourth season, leading it over a billion minutes streamed for the second straight week (to 1.202B).
It finished just ahead of Netflix's (NFLX) young-adult fantasy series Shadow and Bone, which streamed 1.143B minutes to get past the new season's third episode from Disney+ (NYSE:DIS) hit The Mandalorian (1.115B minutes).
Seven different streamers, though, had programs among the top tens for the first time in Nielsen's records. The No. 4 program in Overall rankings was Netflix (NFLX) movie Luther: The Fallen Sun (859M minutes), but it was followed by NCIS (shared by Netflix (NFLX) and Paramount+ (NASDAQ:PARA) (PARAA), 827M minutes); The Last of Us, a hit for HBO Max (WBD) with 817M minutes; Bluey on Disney+ (DIS), with 749M minutes; and South Park on HBO Max (WBD), with 741M minutes.
Rounding out the overall top 10 were Outer Banks (NFLX), 722M minutes; and CoComelon (NFLX), 704M minutes.
Original programs were led by Netflix's (NFLX) You and Shadow and Bone, Disney's (DIS) The Mandalorian, and Netflix's Outer Banks, but new episodes of Ted Lasso helped Apple TV+ (NASDAQ:AAPL) join the party at sixth place (539M minutes). And Paramount+ (PARA) (PARAA) landed a new show on that chart at No. 9 with Star Trek: Picard (310M minutes).
Acquired programs were led by NCIS, The Last of Us, Bluey, South Park and CoComelon, and were rounded out by No. 6 Grey's Anatomy (NFLX), 652M minutes; No. 7 Supernatural (NFLX), 649M minutes; No. 8 Gilmore Girls (NFLX), 507M minutes; No. 9 Friends (WBD), 486M minutes; and No. 10 The Big Bang Theory (WBD), 455M minutes.
The Movies list was led by Netflix (NFLX), with Luther: The Fallen Sun and Dragged Across Concrete (516M minutes). But Peacock (CMCSA) made up the next two entries, with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (435M minutes) and Turbo, which it shared with Netflix (251M minutes).
Rounding out the movie top 10: No. 5, Money Shot: The PornHub Story (NFLX), 246M minutes; No. 6, Moana (DIS), 238M minutes; No. 7, Encanto (DIS), 216M minutes; No. 8, Riddick (NFLX), 214M minutes; No. 9 came from Hulu (DIS) (CMCSA) with Boston Strangler (206M minutes); and No. 10, Minions: The Rise of Gru (NFLX), 200M minutes.
(Nielsen streaming ratings now incorporate viewing from eight major streamers: Amazon Prime Video (AMZN), Apple TV+ (AAPL), Disney+ (DIS), HBO Max (WBD), Hulu (DIS) (CMCSA), Netflix (NFLX), Paramount+ (PARA) (PARAA) and Peacock (CMCSA).)