TV Ratings: Netflix, Disney+ Pull-In Viewers

For millions of fans of Netflix’s sci-fi drama “Stranger Things,” there’s little mystery in how they spent their Memorial Day weekend, according to The Associated Press citing the latest Nielsen data.

Netflix released seven new episodes of the show’s much awaited fourth season and said that a record-setting 286 million hours were streamed over the weekend. That’s the biggest premiere ever for an English-language show on the service, beating the 193 hours for the second season of “Bridgerton,” earlier this year.

“Stranger Things” and a strong performance over the weekend by new episodes of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” on Disney+ show that the two big streamers are effective in building franchises that appeal to passionate fans but also attract new users, said Cole Strain, vice president of measurement products at the research firm Samba TV.

Unlike broadcast and cable television, the streamers don’t offer estimates on how many people are actually watching the shows.

Meanwhile, on broadcast last week, NBC reached nearly 6.4 million viewers for the series finale of “This Is Us,” with the numbers expected to rise through delayed viewing.

CBS led the week in prime time, averaging 3.9 million viewers last week. ABC had 2.9 million, NBC had 2.86 million, Fox had 2.3 million, Univision had 1.3 million, Ion Television had 890,000 and Telemundo had 810,000.

📺Top 20 Prime-Times Shows (Total Viewers)

1. NBA Playoffs: Boston at Miami (Sunday), ESPN, 9.88 million.

2. “NCIS,” CBS, 7.47 million.

3. NBA Playoffs: Miami at Boston (Friday), ESPN, 7.19 million.

4. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 7.03 million.

5. NBA Playoffs: Dallas at Golden State (Thursday), Turner, 6.79 million.

6. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 6.43 million.

7. NBA Playoffs: Boston at Miami (Wednesday), ESPN, 6.42 million.

8. NBA Playoffs: Miami at Boston (Monday), ABC, 6.41 million.

9. “This is Us,” NBC, 6.38 million.

10. NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Dallas (Tuesday), Turner, 6.194 million.

11. “FBI,” CBS, 6.191 million.

12. “Chicago PD,” NBC, 5.98 million.

13. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 5.91 million.

14. “Bob Hearts Abishola,” CBS, 5.7 million.

15. “NCIS: Hawai’i,” CBS, 5.47 million.

16. “FBI: International,” CBS, 5.32 million.

17. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 5.31 million.

18. Special Report: Biden in Texas, CBS, 5.26 million.

19. “Survivor,” CBS, 5.11 million.

20. “FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 4.77 million.

📺BROADCAST NEWS

ABC’s “World News Tonight” won the evening news ratings race with an average of 7.4 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 6.3 million and the “CBS Evening News” clocked in at 4.6 million.

ABC’s evening newscast has now defeated its competition from NBC and CBS 182 of the past 183 weeks in average total viewers—and 111 of the last 113 weeks among adults 25-54, reports TV Newser.

NBC Nightly News its 188 consecutive month of beating its CBS competition in total viewers and the key A25-54 demo.

📺LATE NIGHT

During the month of May, "Gutfeld!" averaged over two million viewers to outdraw anything MSNBC or CNN had to offer despite airing at 11 p.m. ET, and it even topped ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and NBC’s "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon" among total viewers.

📺CABLE

ESPN led the cable networks, averaging 3.4 million viewers last week. Fox News Channel had 2.17 million, TNT had 2.14 million, MSNBC had 992,000 and HGTV had 911,000.

Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN (w/permission)

On the programming front, The Five continued to make history, finishing the month of May as the most-watched cable news show for five out of the past six months. TV Newser reports the roundtable talk program averaged 3.3 million total viewers, and 447,000 in the 25-54 demo at 5 p.m. At 8 p.m., Tucker Carlson Tonight completed the month as the top-rated program among adults 25-54, averaging 522,000, and No. 2 in average total viewers with a 3.2 million average. 

Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN (w/permission)

Additionally, Fox News delivered the six-most-watched programs in cable news and the top 15 programs in the key 25-54 demo.