David Farnor | On 11, May 2019

Our Planet was the most watched title on Netflix UK in April, the streaming giant has revealed.

Netflix has always been famously closely guarded about its viewing figures, but has been gradually playing with ways to use that data to its own ends. It has recently begun to release statistics for key new titles, mostly films, as it looks to build on Roma’s success at the Oscars and position itself as a major, established player in the feature film business.

Triple Frontier, starring Ben Affleck and directed by J.C. Chandor, for example, was watched by over 52 million member households in its first four weeks on Netflix. The Umbrella Academy, based on the comic book by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, was watched by 45 million member households in its first four weeks on service. Now, it’s planning to release those kind of statistics on a weekly basis, with a regular round-up of the most popular things on Netflix UK – all as part of a test to see if users find it useful to have a guide to what’s trending on the site.

This, of course, should be taken with a pinch of salt: Netflix’s count for a “viewer” is anyone who completes at least 70 per cent of one episode of a TV series or 70 per cent of a film – an indication, perhaps, of how much time people typically spend watching a single title on Netflix, or of how value attention spans have become in a competitive online age.

Nonetheless, they give us an indication of what’s catching streamers’ attention right now. Our Planet, for example, was the most-watched title overall last month, topping the combined list of both TV shows and films. Netflix’s most ambitious entry into the nature documentary genre was tracking to be one of its most successful global documentary series launches yet, CEO Reed Hastings said last month, with over 25 million member households projected to watch in the first month of release.

It’s closely followed by Noah Centineo rom-com The Perfect Date, the most-watched film on Netflix UK, and two other Netflix original movies, The Highwaymen and The Silence. Z Nation prequel Black Summer has also struck a chord with zombie fans, while Ricky Gervais’ After Life, recently back in the news because the comedian has finished written Season 2, is the second most popular TV show on Netflix UK.

Riverdale continues to bring in weekly viewers, with spin-off Chilling Adventures of Sabrina also still enchanting audiences. Star Trek: Discovery and Bodyguard are also proving popular – despite the latter previously airing on BBC One. Popular documentaries include Beyonce’s Homecoming and The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, while reality series You vs. Wild is outperforming RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Older films are also proving popular, with The Spy Who Dumped Me and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales making the list, alongside Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II and Sicario 2. Netflix’s latest original film, Someone Great, though, makes the list of top 10 most-watched films ahead of them all. Tellingly, Triple Frontier and The Umbrella Academy and don’t make the cut, which gives an indication, perhaps, of the shelf life of buzz that surrounds a new Netflix release. More interesting, though, is that Santa Clarita Diet is among the 10 most-watched TV shows – despite the fact that Netflix recently cancelled the show, following its third season.

Here’s the full rundown:

10 most-watched things on Netflix UK in April

1. Our Planet
2. The Perfect Date
3. The Highwaymen
4. The Silence
5. Black Summer
6. After Life
7. The Spy Who Dumped Me
8. Riverdale
9. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
10. You vs. Wild

10 most-watched films on Netflix UK in April

1. The Perfect Date
2. The Highwaymen
3. The Silence
4. The Spy Who Dumped Me
5. Someone Great
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
7. Baywatch
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
9. Sniper: Ultimate Kill
10. Sicario: Day of the Soldado

10 most-watched TV shows on Netflix UK in April

1. Black Summer
2. After Life
3. Riverdale
4. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
5. Star Trek: Discovery
6. Lunatics
7. Bodyguard
8. Santa Clarita Diet
9. Bonding
10. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

10 most-watched documentaries on Netflix UK in April

1. Our Planet
2. The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
3. Homecoming: A film by Beyoncé
4. The Legend of Cocaine Island
5. Street Food
6. The Investigator: A British Crime Story
7. Formula 1: Drive to Survive
8. Roman Empire
9. One Strange Rock
10. Top 10 Secrets and Mysteries

10 most-watched reality series on Netflix UK in April

1. You vs. Wild
2. RuPaul’s Drag Race
3. RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked!
4. Queer Eye
5. Selling Sunset
6. Impractical Jokers
7. Sugar Rush
8. Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
9. Love Island
10. American Idol

10 most-watched non-English-language TV shows on Netflix UK in April

1. Quicksand
2. The Ruthless
3. Osmosis
4. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
5. Delhi Crime
6. Mirage
7. Bitter Daisies
8. A Fortunate Man
9. Burn Out
10. The Protector

 

Netflix to release list of most popular UK titles

17th April 2019

Netflix is planning to release a weekly list of its most popular UK titles, as part of a new experiment.

The streaming giant has always been famously closely guarded about its viewing figures, but has been gradually playing with ways to use that data to its own ends. It has recently begun to release statistics for key new titles, mostly films, as it looks to build on Roma’s success at the Oscars and position itself as a major, established player in the feature film business.

Triple Frontier, starring Ben Affleck and directed by J.C. Chandor, for example, has been watched by over 52 million member households in its first four weeks on Netflix. The Highwaymen (starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson as two lawmen that bring Bonnie and Clyde to justice) is on track to being watched by over 40 million member households in its first month. Documentary feature FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened has been watched by over 20 million member households in its first month on Netflix.

In TV series, Our Planet, Netflix’s most ambitious entry into the popular nature documentary genre, is “off to a strong start and is tracking to be one of our most successful global documentary series launches yet”, with over 25 million member households projected to watch in the first month of release. The Umbrella Academy, based on the comic book by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, which has been watched by 45 million member households in its first four weeks on service and has been renewed for a second season.

All of these figures should be taken with a pinch of salt: Netflix’s count for a “viewer” is anyone who completes at least 70 per cent of one episode of a TV series or 70 per cent of a film – an indication, perhaps, of how much time people typically spend watching a single title on Netflix, or of how value attention spans have become in a competitive online age.

Netflix will be building on that kind of insight, though, to try showing people what other users are currently watching. This coming quarter, it will be running a test in the UK by releasing a weekly top 10 list of the most popular content on its service across various programming categories.

“For those who want to watch what others are watching, this may make choosing titles even easier,” says Netflix. “After a few months we’ll decide whether to end or expand the test.”

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