Netflix Claims Big Viewership Numbers for 'You' and 'Sex Education'
by EG
Netflix claims that both YOU and Sex Education will draw 40 million viewers by the time they've been on the platform for a month. But neither series is generating much buzz, and Netflix's infamously murking reporting will count a "viewer" for a series as long as someone watches about three quarters of one episode. Read on for details.
The drama series You didn't attract much attention on Lifetime, but its debut on Netflix has been huge, according to the streamer.
The thriller starring Penn Badgley and Elizabeth Lail averaged about 1.1 million viewers (and only 611,000 in same-day ratings) during its run on cable in the fall. It has grown exponentially since debuting on Netflix in late December.
In the company's quarterly earnings report, Netflix said You is on pace to be watched by 40 million member households in its first four weeks on the service.
The British dramedy Sex Education, which launched last Friday, is also on pace to hit the 40-million mark within a month. The Spanish teen drama Elite was viewed in more than 20 million homes worldwide in its first four weeks. The feature film Bird Box, meanwhile, is on track to be seen by 80 million Netflix households.
The numbers for YOU and Sex Education are projections from Netflix, and they don't correspond directly with Nielsen ratings for traditional TV. The company counts a "viewer" as anyone who completes at least 70 percent of a single episode of a series (or 70 percent of a film). The average viewership for each episode is likely not that high; Netflix does not publicly report full viewership numbers for its content.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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