- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
The Umbrella Academy was the runaway top title on Netflix in its first full week of release, according to figures from Nielsen.
The ratings data provider is launching a weekly streaming top 10 list, with the first set of data covering the week of Aug. 3-9. For now, Nielsen measures only programs on Netflix and Amazon, with other streaming providers to be added in the future.
The first top 10 is entirely made up of shows on Netflix — with The Umbrella Academy topping the list by a wide margin. Nielsen says U.S. viewers watched a little over 3 billion minutes of the show’s two seasons, with season two debuting July 31. Netflix has about 73 million subscribers in the United States and Canada, with Nielsen’s measurement covering just the U.S.
Netflix and other streamers have long contended that Nielsen data doesn’t give a complete picture of viewership for its programming, since it measures TV-set viewing only and doesn’t count viewers in other countries. Netflix releases limited data on its content and uses a “view” metric of subscriber accounts watching at least two minutes of a show or movie — more akin to measurement on YouTube (30 seconds) and other online video.
The time viewers spent with The Umbrella Academy was more than the combined total of next three shows on the list: Shameless (1.13 billion minutes), Grey’s Anatomy (918 million) and The Office (897 million). Slots 2 through 10 are all occupied by shows that first air on other outlets but have streaming deals with Netflix.
That’s consistent with streaming data Nielsen released during the spring as it tracked TV consumption in the early weeks of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Original shows rarely occupied more than three slots in the top 10.
The full top 10 for Aug. 3-9 is below.
1. The Umbrella Academy, 3.01 billion minutes viewed
2. Shameless, 1.13 billion
3. Grey’s Anatomy, 918 million
4. The Office, 897 million
5. Criminal Minds, 697 million
6. NCIS, 524 million
7. In the Dark, 418 million
8. Dexter, 316 million
9. Supernatural, 315 million
10. Parks and Recreation, 304 million
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day