Netflix and Amazon Prime famously don’t disclose their viewing data.
- We don’t know how many subscribers are watching documentary and unscripted programs.
- Or how their audience breaks down, for example by gender, age, education and income.
- And how do the hit, binge-watched scripted series compare with the unscripted audience on the OTT/Netflix platforms?
The lack of data is a great frustration to both producers and distributors who are pitching the platforms. It also frustrates the network programmers who are competing with them for concepts and talent.
A Glimpse
My partner Dr John Morse has been researching ways to get around the platforms’ big, beautiful walls in order to provide our readers with a glimpse of U.S. audiences for key online programs.
- In this post, John shares the findings of a GfK-MRI 2018 survey of the Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu audiences for a selection of hit scripted programs.
- He compares them with The Grand Tour, Amazon Prime’s Jeremy Clarkson / motorhead series.
- Its the only unscripted OTT/SVOD program covered in the survey.
HIGHLIGHTS
Here are several data points that captured our attention. All findings are for “Watched Last 30 Days.”)
U.S. Household Subscribes to:
| Netflix | 52% |
| Prime | 21% |
| Hulu | 13% |
Note: Many homes subscribe to multiple services.
Watched last 30 days
(Adults 18+)
| The Grand Tour | Prime | 3,705,000 |
| Orange Is The New Black | Netflix | 16,350,000 |
| The Handmaid’s Tale | Hulu | 5,987,000 |
| The Man In The High Castle | Prime | 3,586,000 |
Gender
(Adults, 18+)
| Male | Female | |
| Grand Tour | 74% | 26% |
| Orange / Black | 37% | 63% |
| Handmaid | 40% | 60% |
| High Castle | 61% | 39% |
Age
| 25-54 | 65+ | |
| Grand Tour | 76% | 3% |
| Orange / Black | 66% | 2% |
| Handmaid | 71% | 2% |
| High Castle | 79% | 3% |
| All 18+ | 51% | 20% |
Education & Income
(Adults, 18+)
| College Grad | Income >$100,000 | |
| Grand Tour | 46% | 50% |
| Orange / Black | 38% | 39% |
| Handmaid | 40% | 38% |
| High Castle | 50% | 33% |
| All 18+ | 31% | 33% |
Purchase Behavior
(Adults, 18+)
| Made an Online Purchase | |
| Grand Tour | 81% |
| Orange / Black | 74% |
| Handmaid | 77% |
| High Castle | 84% |
| All 18+ | 55% |
CHANNELS
- The GfK-MRI survey also covers factual series from several channels including Discovery, History, Nat Geo and Bravo.
- The channels’ 30-day viewing compares favorably with for our selection of hit series.
Watched last 30 days
(Adults 18+)
| Deadliest Catch | Discovery | 17,346,000 |
| Pawn Stars | History | 24,157,000 |
| Wicked Tuna | Nat Geo | 11,302,000 |
| Million Dollar Listing | Bravo | 7,585,000 |
IMPROVE YOUR PITCH
- Producers, distributors and funders: If you are developing and pitching a special or series for Netflix, Amazon or the channels, we will improve your pitch by providing detailed analysis of your potential buyer’s audience.
- Contact me (peter@documentarytelevision.com) to engage Byron Media‘s John Morse and me to provide you with a full analysis.
- Because access to audience data is costly, our service is available to industry participants of scale.
