Netflix’s Outer Banks was the runaway No. 1 program in Nielsen’s streaming rankings for the first week of August.
After finishing a close second to All American in the previous week, Outer Banks banked considerably more viewing time in the week of Aug. 2-8. The drama had 2.1 billion minutes of watch time for the week, a 48 percent jump from 1.42 billion minutes for July 26-Aug. 1.
The series also had a big lead over the shows below it in the rankings. Outer Banks had 943 million more minutes of watch time than All American (1.157 billion minutes), the No. 2 title overall on Amazon, Disney+, Hulu and Netflix. Its margin was even bigger among original series, where it was nearly four times bigger than the second-ranked show, Virgin River (547 million).
In a rarity for recent months, Netflix occupied all 10 of the original series slots in a period where the other three streamers Nielsen measures didn’t have much in the way of new or recent releases. The week was also the final week of the Summer Olympics, which dominated traditional TV.
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. 2-8 are below.
Original Series
1. Outer Banks (Netflix), 2.1 billion minutes viewed
2. Virgin River (Netflix), 547 million
3. Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (Netflix), 321 million
4. Top Secret UFO Projects Declassified (Netflix), 288 million
5. Car Masters: Rust to Riches (Netflix), 280 million
6. Love Is Blind (Netflix), 236 million
7. The Snitch Cartel: Origins (Netflix), 227 million
8. Hit & Run (Netflix), 226 million
9. Lucifer (Netflix), 223 million
10. Glow Up (Netflix), 220 million
Acquired Series
1. All American (Netflix), 1.16 billion minutes
2. The Walking Dead (Netflix), 720 million
3. Cocomelon (Netflix), 705 million
4. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 670 million
5. Criminal Minds (Netflix), 579 million
6. Chicago Med (Netflix), 544 million
7. NCIS (Netflix), 530 million
8. Manifest (Netflix), 501 million
9. The Flash (Netflix), 472 million
10. Supernatural (Netflix), 368 million
Source: Hollywood
