In the streaming landscape, it’s been virtually impossible to get an apples-to-apples read on the relative popularity of TV shows and movies.
Netflix, of course, releases its own rankings based on total views, while Nielsen’s measures viewership in the U.S. across multiple streamers. But because of Netflix’s sheer size — it counted more than 282 million subscribers as of the end of Q3 — it tends to dominate the viewership figures tallied by Nielsen.
So what if streaming viewership were weighted based on the size of each platform? That’s the idea behind a new ranking developed by consulting company Owl & Co. For the month of October (Sept. 27-Oct. 24), the firm ranked original series based on Luminate’s Streaming Viewership data, which covers original and library shows and movies in the U.S. and is based on a panel of 2.5 million homes. (Disclosure: Variety and Luminate are both owned by PMC.)
The ranking, calculated by dividing views by each platform’s reported or estimated subscriber base, yields what Owl & Co. founder Hernan Lopez calls “in-universe ratings,” which he says is a nod to the days of Nielsen’s In-Universe Ratings for cable TV. The new metric also offers a “Live+28 days” look at streaming, which compared with single-week measurements would even out spikes favoring Netflix’s binge-release strategy.
The findings: Netflix’s hit comedy “Nobody Wants This” was No. 1 for the period, with an in-universe score of 20.4. The rom-sitcom, created by Erin Foster and produced by 20th Television, has been renewed for Season 2 by Netflix. That’s after every other network and streamer in town had originally passed on the show, according to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
The calculated 20.4 “in-universe rating” means that “Nobody Wants This” is pretty certain to qualify for the WGA’s success-based bonus, according to Lopez. That provision of the WGA contract reached last fall with studios entitles writers to bonuses if streaming shows are viewed by 20% or more of a service’s domestic subscribers in the first 90 days of release.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Owl & Co. ranking found that the No. 2 show was Taylor Sheridan’s “Tulsa King” Season 2, starring Sylvester Stallone, on Paramount+. At No. 3 was Apple TV+’s “Shrinking” Season 2, starring Jason Segel, Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford. Next were Apple TV+’s “Bad Monkey” and “Slow Horses” S4, followed by Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” on Netflix and Apple TV+’s “Disclaimer” (which tied with an 11.2 in-universe rating).
The list also shows that seven streaming originals had double-digit in-universe ratings, with four of those on Apple TV+. That result is “refreshing,” Lopez says, and something rarely seen outside of sports on Nielsen ratings. Prior to launching Owl & Co., he was founder and CEO of podcast company Wondery (now part of Amazon) and prior to that was CEO of Fox International Channels (now part of Disney).
Here are Owl & Co.’s weighted rankings of the top 20 original streaming series for October:
Lopez noted that Owl & Co.’s new in-universe ranking is “a work in progress” and that the firm will continue developing it “only if there’s strong interest.”
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