Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ Beats Prime Video’s ‘Jack Ryan’ for Top Spot in Streaming | Charts
Netflix dropped the first installment of Season 3 of “The Witcher” on June 29, resulting in 1.1 million households tuning into Henry Cavill’s last season as Geralt within the first six days streaming, according to the latest Wrap Report for the week of June 28-July 4.
The report provides an exclusive first look at the most-watched movies and TV series from the past week across both streaming and linear television sourced from viewership trends collected from Samba TV’s panel of more than 3 million households drawn from over 25 million connected TVs, balanced to the U.S. Census.
Older Millennials (ages 35-44) overindexed by nearly 10% compared to the average household, the highest margin of any age group. Yet the initial drop of five episodes this season has seen fewer viewers compared to last season, with the series experiencing a 15% decline between the most recent season and the Season 2 premiere.
Still, it was enough to edge out Amazon Prime Video’s “Jack Ryan,” which had a stronger debut based on premiere viewership head to head. More households tuned in to watch at least one episode of Season 3 of “The Witcher” throughout the week, despite more households watching the premiere of “Jack Ryan” in the initial six-day window. Still, it was an impressive debut for the streamer, with a whopping 1.2 million households viewing the premiere episode, indicating buzz for the Tom Clancy action-packed series’ fourth and final season remains high.
Older audiences (ages 65-74) in particular appear to be driving initial viewership, overindexing by nearly 20% compared to the average household. Looking at the prior “Jack Ryan” season premiere only a few months ago, the data indicates a slight drop-off in viewership. Yet audiences remained hooked after Season 4’s first episode, as most continued on to watch onto episode two, spelling good news for viewer engagement and longevity of the series.
In the No. 3 spot is the inaugural season of “Suits,” which became available for streaming on Netflix last month. It could be that publicity and buzz surrounding Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, who played Rachel Zane for seven of its nine seasons, could be driving viewership for the show that launched in 2011, but just recently hit Netflix’s library.
Hitting the most-streamed list this week for the second consecutive week are Disney’s “Secret Invasion,” Netflix’s “Extraction 2” and “Black Mirror,” Hulu’s “The Bear,” and Max’s “Sex and the City” spin-off “And Just Like That.”
New to the list are two Netflix originals, including thriller “Run Rabbit Run” featuring “Succession” star Sarah Snook, who plays a fertility doctor confronting her long-held beliefs after her daughter begins exhibiting strange behavior. Rounding out the final spot is Netflix’s documentary “Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators.”
On broadcast television, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” secured the No. 1 linear spot again. Meanwhile, game shows continue to have a moment, with episodes of ABC’s “Wheel of Fortune” and CBS’ “The Price Is Right” comprising half of the most-watched telecasts this week. Dramas, including “Fire Country” (CBS), “FBI” (CBS), and “FBI: International” (CBS) made a comeback this week, with three of the top 10 spots. Meanwhile, ABC’s sophomore season of comedy quiz game show “Generation Gap” hosted by Kelly Rippa also nabbed a spot this week. Created by Emmy Award-winning producers Jimmy Kimmel and Mark Burnett, the show pairs teams of different aged contestants, challenging them to answer cultural questions from one another’s generation.
Meredith Brace is the chief marketing officer at Samba TV, a WrapPRO partner. Click here for more data and analysis from Samba TV.
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