Netflix’s thriller Clickbait claimed the top overall spot in Nielsen’s streaming charts for the week following its premiere, dislodging Manifest. Hulu also had two shows make the top 10 original series for the first time.
Clickbait racked up 1.46 billion minutes of viewing time for the week of Aug. 30-Sept. 5, a 60 percent jump over the 912 million minutes for its debut the previous week. It was far and away the most watched original series on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu and Netflix, drawing more than triple the viewing time of the second-place show, Money Heist (452 million minutes).
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, which premiered Aug. 31, had 444 million minutes of watch time for its first three episodes. The comedy (which has been renewed for a second season) ranked fourth among original shows, and together with Nine Perfect Strangers (320 million minutes, ranking sixth) gave Hulu multiple shows in the top 10 originals for the first time in the 13 months Nielsen has been tallying weekly streaming rankings.
Manifest remained the most watched acquired show by a wide margin. Its 1.11 billion minutes of viewing time (down some from 1.39 billion the prior week) was about 50 percent more than the 745 million for Cocomelon, which finished second.
Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing on TV sets only and don’t include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices. The ratings only measure U.S. audiences, not those in other countries, and currently only include Amazon, Disney+, Hulu and Netflix.
Nielsen’s top streaming series for Aug. 30-Sept. 5 are below.
Original Series
1. Clickbait (Netflix), 1.46 billion minutes viewed
2. Money Heist (Netflix), 452 million
3. Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (Netflix), 447 million
4. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), 444 million
5. Grace and Frankie (Netflix), 421 million
6. Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu), 320 million
7. Outer Banks (Netflix), 252 million
8. What If … (Disney+), 235 million
9. Virgin River (Netflix), 233 million
10. Family Reunion (Netflix), 226 million
Acquired Series
1. Manifest (Netflix), 1.11 billion minutes
2. Cocomelon (Netflix), 745 million
3. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 685 million
4. Criminal Minds (Netflix), 593 million
5. NCIS (Netflix), 580 million
6. Chicago Med (Netflix), 457 million
7. Heartland (Netflix), 455 million
8. Supernatural (Netflix), 426 million
9. All American (Netflix), 380 million
10. The Flash (Netflix), 336 million
Source: Hollywood
