Nielsen July 21 disclosed that Netflix’s popularity among TV viewers reached a new record level in June. Thanks to the availability of “Stranger Things” season four, the subscription streaming video pioneer saw its June viewership (in minutes) reach 7.7% of the total U.S. TV market — up from 6.6% in June 2021.
Netflix’s gain rippled through the media landscape as streaming video represented nearly 34% of all TV viewership, narrowly behind cable (35.1%) and network television at 22.1%. Indeed, the month saw streaming’s largest market share and lowest for legacy pay-TV and broadcast. Streaming in the home on the television increased 23.5% from June 2021.
Netflix ended the month with more than 1.33 billion minutes viewed, which was more than the combined minutes viewed for CBS (753 million) and ABC (472 million). Other networks included NBC with 597 million minutes viewed, Fox (323 million), Disney+ (245 million), Amazon Prime Video (174 million), Hulu (128 million) and Apple TV+ (22 million).
Netflix, in its second-quarter shareholder letter, referenced the impact of Stranger Things 4 on its viewership. The streamer said the new season of the sci-fi series generated the largest viewership for an English-language show on the platform.
Season four also re-ignited interest in past episodes of “Stranger Things” with season one through three experiencing a greater than five-fold increase in viewing in the month after the release of season four (vs. the prior month).
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“[The new season] also showcased the effectiveness of our marketing strategy in driving conversation around our titles,” Netflix wrote in the letter. “When we deliver shows and movies that members are talking about in large numbers, we can influence pop culture, build passion for Netflix and create an experience that is differentiated and difficult-to-replicate.”
Indeed, the new season catapulted the 1985 song “Running Up That Hill” to the top of the music charts. Metallica also enjoyed a return to the charts in the U.S. and U.K. with their 1986 song “Master of Puppets” after being featured in season four. Netflix said the cumulative Twitter volume for “Stranger Things” continues to outpace both “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and Top Gun: Maverick, highlighting the big conversation around this title and reinforcing that “our binge versus one week at a time release strategy drives lots of water cooler conversation.”
And TV viewing minutes.
