Netflix's 'Diplomat' stays on top, and originals get a new-episode lift
Dimitrios Kambouris
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) relied on a tried and true formula, building brand power by rolling out new seasons of recent original programs to continue leading lists based on streaming eyeballs.
The subscriber leader topped the chart in Nielsen's latest weekly streaming ratings (for April 24-30) again with a repeat from The Diplomat, its newest hit (1.392B minutes streamed). But it also boosted some older shows back to the chart with new episodes, including Firefly Lane (No. 2 overall with 1.109B minutes for the week), Sweet Tooth (No. 4 overall with 924M minutes) and Workin' Moms (No. 9 overall with 645M minutes).
It's the 12th straight week where a Netflix original was the top overall program.
And Netflix (NFLX) filled out the overall top five with two acquired shows that saw heavy viewing during the week: Better Call Saul at No. 3 (968M minutes), and toddler mainstay CoComelon at No. 5 (804M minutes).
The rest of the Overall top 10 had a mix of original and acquired content: No. 6, Ted Lasso (NASDAQ:AAPL), 795M minutes; No. 7, Bluey (NYSE:DIS), 715M minutes; No. 8, NCIS (NFLX) (PARA) (PARAA), 667M minutes; No. 9, Workin' Moms (NFLX), 645M minutes; and No. 10, Grey's Anatomy (NFLX), 640M minutes.
The top five Original programs all made the Overall top 10 (The Diplomat, Firefly Lane, Sweet Tooth, Ted Lasso and Workin' Moms). That list was filled out by No. 6, The Night Agent (NFLX), 560M minutes; No. 7, The Mandalorian (DIS), 498M minutes; No. 8, Beef (NFLX), 459M minutes; No. 9, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (AMZN), 457M minutes; and No. 10, John Mulaney: Baby J (NFLX), 379M minutes.
Similarly, the top five Acquired programs were also overall top 10, and HBO Max (NASDAQ:WBD) filled in much of the rest: No. 6, Succession (WBD), 568M minutes; No. 7, The Big Bang Theory (WBD), 525M minutes; No. 8, South Park (WBD), 312M minutes; No. 9, Shameless (NFLX), 521M minutes; and No. 10, Heartland (NFLX), 447M minutes.
Netflix (NFLX) also had the top program on the Movies list -- with Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (578M minutes) -- but there was lots of room for rival streamers there. Next on the list came Peter Pan & Wendy (DIS), 477M minutes; AKA (NFLX), 295M minutes; Moana (DIS), 238M minutes; and A Tourist's Guide to Love (NFLX), 220M minutes.
Rounding out the Movies top 10 were No. 6, Ghosted (AAPL), 181M minutes; No. 7, Encanto (DIS), 167M minutes; No. 8, Cocaine Bear (CMCSA), 147M minutes; No. 9, Ticket To Paradise (AMZN), 142M minutes; and No. 10, Champions (CMCSA), 137M 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).)