Netflix’s Squid Game made a big jump up the streaming charts for Sept. 20-26, claiming the No. 1 overall spot with a huge week to week increase.
Nielsen’s weekly chart also features an Apple TV+ series for the first time — Ted Lasso — as the iPhone maker’s streaming platform joins Disney+, Hulu, Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video in being measured for the rankings. The Simpsons on Disney+ also broke Netflix’s yearlong monopoly on the acquired series top 10.
Squid Game drew 1.91 billion minutes of viewing time for the week, a more than ninefold increase over the previous week (the show premiered Sept. 17 on Netflix). The Korean series, which Netflix says is its most sampled show ever, gathered word of mouth and was spotlighted in the streamer’s algorithms after its opening weekend, which helped fuel the massive growth.
Ted Lasso racked up 509 million minutes of viewing on Apple TV+ in the week after it won multiple Emmys, including best comedy series. It ranks fifth among originals for the week, and Nielsen says it would have made the top 10 originals in several prior weeks during the show’s second season as well, had Apple TV+ been included in the rankings.
Apple, which like other streamers doesn’t release detailed viewing data, had previously said Ted Lasso‘s second season premiere posted big increases over season one.
The previous week’s top show, Lucifer, fell to second overall with 860 million minutes (a drop of about 46 percent), while Sex Education increased its watch time by 44 percent to 856 million minutes. Netflix’s Midnight Mass, which premiered Sept. 24, had a strong opening with 566 million minutes.
The Simpsons became the first non-Netflix title to land a spot in the top 10 acquired shows since Nielsen began its weekly streaming rankings more than a year ago. It ranked ninth among acquired shows with 272 million minutes of viewing time.
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 Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix and Prime Video.
Nielsen’s top streaming series for Sept. 20-26 are below.
Original Series
1. Squid Game (Netflix), 1.91 billion minutes viewed
2. Lucifer (Netflix), 860 million
3. Sex Education (Netflix), 856 million
4. Midnight Mass (Netflix), 566 million
5. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), 509 million
6. The Circle (Netflix), 436 million
7. Clickbait (Netflix), 409 million
8. The Great British Baking Show (Netflix), 381 million
9. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), 299 million
10. Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan (Netflix), 251 million
Acquired Series
1. Cocomelon (Netflix), 675 million minutes
2. Criminal Minds (Netflix), 651 million
3. NCIS (Netflix), 546 million
4. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 462 million
5. Manifest (Netflix), 430 million
6. Heartland (Netflix), 399 million
7. Supernatural (Netflix), 361 million
8. Downton Abbey (Netflix), 277 million
9. The Simpsons (Disney+), 272 million
10. Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 257 million
Source: Hollywood
