(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.)
If the news media is to be believed, one show has dominated the last two months, variously described as a…
… “global sensation”
… “hit show” and “TV phenomenon”
… “worldwide hit”
… “global phenomenom”
… “global phenomenom” (Again)
Everyone from the New Yorker to the Washington Post has declared one show a massive hit. A show so big it even got its own Saturday Night Live spoof.
That’s right, obviously, I speak of Heated Rivalry. I can’t open my inbox or go on social media without running into articles pronouncing this show’s huge success and cultural impact.
So…
…I mean…
…of course…
…I have to ask if all that’s true…right?
If you’ve been reading me for a bit—or even better, pay to read my viewership analysis—you’ll know I don’t go in for casual, anecdotal evidence. I want the data and I want it all. Heated Rivalry dominated the so-called discourse, but did it dominate the ratings? Was it actually popular?
Let me just tell you: the data for Heated Rivalry will surprise you.
This was supposed to be the first part of this week’s Streaming Ratings Report, but sometimes a show demands an entire article to itself (like Beast Games or the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight). The hype around Heated Rivalry has certainly put it in the same rarified territory.
And guess what? I have the data: EXCLUSIVE viewership numbers from Nielsen.
Today I’m going to deliver to you the most in-depth, data-based article on Heated Rivalry, with a slew of lessons for the streaming wars, including:
- Whether Heated Rivalry’s buzz and earned media translated into interest…
- Whether that interest translated into viewership…
- Why the “Heartstopper Corollary” should worry Heated Rivalry fans…
- Whether Heated Rivalry is the new Mad Men…
- Why Heated Rivalry is a big, big win for HBO Max, but not for the reason you think…
Ultimately, I’ll tell you how well this show actually performed. Forget the hype and headlines. This is the data and actual viewership; the single most detailed report (over 3,500 words) from the most knowledgeable streaming ratings person out there. I’m not here to hype this show up, but to tell you how it actually did, the good, mixed and bad.
Let’s dive in!
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