The demand for Netflix documentaries in the UK reveals more similarities than differences compared with the U.S.
- That’s according to research firm Parrot Analytics which measures online audience demand for programs across all platforms.
- Parrot’s Demand Expressions® is a valuable workaround for Netflix’s notorious black hole for information about its audience.
Measuring Audience Demand
- Today’s post continues my coverage of Netflix’s Top 20 Original Documentaries.
- I also compare the demand for Documentaries with Scripted Netflix Original hits like Stranger Things.
- Parrot Analytics has generously shared their proprietary data on the Top 20 Documentary and Scripted Originals on Netflix in the U.S., UK, France, Germany & Australia.
- Read the U.S. Top 20 post (July 26) here.
- And don’t miss Netflix exec Diego Buñuel revealing his documentary buying strategy at Sunny Side of the Doc.
Here are the UK Top 20 and my brief Takeaways:
Top 20 Netflix Documentary Originals
United Kingdom
Demand Expressions / Capita
January 1 – July 7, 2019
| Rank | Title | Daily Demand |
| 1 | Making A Murderer | 1.6642 |
| 2 | Our Planet | 1.3259 |
| 3 | The Chef Show | 1.1446 |
| 4 | Conversations With A Killer: … Ted Bundy… | 0.7526 |
| 5 | Wild Wild Country | 0.6934 |
| 6 | Sunderland ’till I Die | 0.6653 |
| 7 | Formula 1: Drive To Survive | 0.6385 |
| 8 | Evil Genius: … America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist | 0.5081 |
| 9 | Street Food | 0.3839 |
| 10 | Chef’s Table | 0.3592 |
| 11 | Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened | 0.2974 |
| 12 | Knock Down The House | 0.2672 |
| 13 | The Confession Tapes | 0.2533 |
| 14 | The Staircase | 0.2112 |
| 15 | Dirty Money | 0.2008 |
| 16 | The Keepers | 0.1954 |
| 17 | Dark Tourist | 0.1752 |
| 18 | Last Chance U | 0.1447 |
| 19 | Abstract: The Art Of Design | 0.1224 |
| 20 | Flint Town | 0.1084 |
Source: Parrot Analytics
* Average Demand Expressions® per 100 Capita over Date Range
PETER’S TAKEAWAYS
- Parrot’s Demand Expressions® is a very useful and widely subscribed tool for programmers to value the online impact of programs, content brands and genres.
- Note that measures of online engagement deliver strategic and commercial insights, but they don’t sell soap powder like the data syndicated by the Nielsen-type ‘dinosaur’ ratings services.
U.S. vs UK Rankings
- Netflix is a global platform that exploits the efficiencies of programs that can be licensed for all territories.
- The lists are very similar: only 5 out of 20 UK Top 20 shows are not in the U.S. list, and they are all ranked below #9.
- The surprise US #1 Who Shot The Sheriff about Bob Marley doesn’t rank in UK – maybe the rights weren’t available?
- Most of the UK Top 20 are series or limited series.
- Crime leads all genres in both territories.
- The Staircase (2004) and Flint Town are not in the U.S. Top 20.
- Sports is higher in UK:
- At #6 and 7 are Sunderland ’til I Die and Formula 1: Drive To Survive
- Lifestyle / Cooking ranks somewhat higher in UK.
- David Attenborough ranks #2 in UK versus #4 in US, and Our Planet is the only Wildlife series in both lists.
- My new study Netflix: What You Need To Know Now! provides a database of 130+ Netflix Originals & acquisitions, with valuable information about the streamer’s business model and eco-system. Read more here, including my list of 20 key Netflix buyers…
Comparing Documentaries vs Scripted
- The “Scale Difference” column below calculates the multiple in Demand for the Scripted vs Unscripted show at each rank from 1 – 20.
- For example, in the UK, Stranger Things registers 5.7 times the Demand expressed for the #1 Making A Murderer.
- The comparable US multiple for Scripted is 6.2X.
- The Documentary genre is significantly more popular in UK than the U.S. for Netflix subscribers as it is for terrestrial channel viewers.
- With a little extra math, we find that Stranger Things registers 9X the Demand for Our Planet in UK versus 12X in the US.
- Read more Takeaways in my U.S. Top 20 Originals coverage.
DocumentaryBusiness.com Editorial Assistant: Christine Watson
Top 20 Netflix Scripted Originals
United Kingdom
Demand Expressions / Capita
January 1 – July 7, 2019
| Rank | Title | Daily Demand | Scale Difference |
| 1 | Stranger Things | 9.0164 | 5.4 |
| 2 | Lucifer | 5.9925 | 4.5 |
| 3 | Black Mirror | 5.8138 | 5.1 |
| 4 | When They See Us | 3.9079 | 5.2 |
| 5 | Narcos | 3.7814 | 5.5 |
| 6 | You | 2.9944 | 4.5 |
| 7 | Designated Survivor | 2.7168 | 4.3 |
| 8 | The OA | 2.4379 | 4.8 |
| 9 | The Crown | 2.2394 | 5.8 |
| 10 | 13 Reasons Why | 2.1492 | 6.0 |
| 11 | The Society | 2.1082 | 7.1 |
| 12 | House Of Cards | 2.1019 | 7.9 |
| 13 | Ozark | 1.8814 | 7.4 |
| 14 | Love Death And Robots | 1.7975 | 8.5 |
| 15 | Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events | 1.5922 | 7.9 |
| 16 | The Haunting Of Hill House | 1.5709 | 8.0 |
| 17 | Altered Carbon | 1.4871 | 8.5 |
| 18 | Travelers | 1.4867 | 10.3 |
| 19 | Dark | 1.4419 | 11.8 |
| 20 | Roma | 1.3763 | 12.7 |
Source: Parrot Analytics
* Average Demand Expressions® per 100 Capita over Date Range
Demand Expressions®
- Demand Expressions® is the global TV measurement standard developed by Parrot Analytics that represents the total audience demand being expressed for a title within a market.
- Audience demand reflects the desire, engagement and viewership, weighted by importance.
- A stream/download is a higher expression of demand than a ‘like’/comment.
About Parrot Analytics
- Parrot Analytics is the leading global content demand analytics company for the multi-platform TV business. With the world’s largest TV audience demand datasets, the company currently tracks more than 1.5B daily expressions of demand in over 100 languages from 200+ countries to reveal the content consumers engage with and watch the most across platforms.
- Parrot Analytics is a trusted partner to some of the biggest media companies and content creators in the world, helping them optimize content workflows in real time. Partnering with companies across the entire content supply chain, from agencies to global direct-to-consumer platforms, Parrot Analytics helps drive better production, distribution, acquisition and marketing decisions, as well as increased subscriber growth and retention.
- The company has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Singapore and Auckland. Connect with us on YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.
- For more information, see www.parrotanalytics.com.
