Thanks to the release of its third season, “Outer Banks” made an impressive showing on the Nielsen Streaming Top 10, becoming the most viewed title of the week. The teen drama was watched for 3.2 billion minutes during the Feb. 20-26 viewing window, during which Season 3 was available for four days.
According to Nielsen, Seasons 1 and 2 of “Outer Banks” were cumulatively viewed for about one billion minutes during this interval, meaning that one-third of the viewership came from fans who rewatched or newly discovered the series ahead of Season 3’s launch.
In the No. 2 position for this viewing window was another Netflix title: “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scancal.” The true crime docuseries was released on Feb. 22 watched for 1.4 billion minutes in its first five days of availability.
“The Last of Us” had its best showing yet with 1.2 billion minutes watched. The HBO series’ sixth episode debuted just hours before the beginning of the Feb. 20-26 viewing window, while its seventh episode debuted hours before the window closed. That viewership, combined with continued viewing of Episodes 1-5, landed “The Last of Us” in the No. 3 position.
At No. 4 was the Netflix film “We Have a Ghost.” It’s more difficult for movies to land on the overall Top 10, as they have shorter runtimes than the series they compete with, but the horror comedy, led by David Harbour, Jahi Winston, Tig Notaro, Jennifer Coolidge and Anthony Mackie, scored 930 million viewing minutes in its first three days of availability.
Megahit preschool series “Cocomelon” took fifth place with 884 million minutes viewed on Netflix, followed by “New Amsterdam” at No. 6 with 850 million. The NBC series, which streams on both Netflix and Peacock, concluded its fifth and final season in January.
See Nielsen’s list of overall streaming rankings for Feb. 20-26 first, followed by original streaming titles, acquired titles and then films.
More to come…
