Viewers Watched More Than 5 Billion Minutes Of ‘Stranger Things 4’ In A Week, Breaking Record

Topline

The release of the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things became the third show to garner more than 5 billion minutes of viewing in a week, Nielsen announced Monday, according to several reports, a week after Netflix said the series had one of the biggest opening weekends.

Key Facts

From May 23 to May 29, viewers watched 5.1 billion minutes of Stranger Things on Netflix, after the first part of the fourth season was released on May 29.

The new episodes accounted for 4 billion of the 5.1 billion minutes.

Only two other shows have received more than 5 billion minutes of views in a week, Nielsen said: Tiger King (5.3 billion minutes) and Ozark (5.2 billion minutes) both did in March 2020, as Covid-19 lockdowns set in.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, which released the first two episodes of the series on the same day on Disney+, clocked in at 1 billion minutes—though its episodes were shorter than that of Stranger Things, and there were fewer of them available to watch.

Key Background

Nielsen began tracking the audiences of some major streaming services in 2020. It currently tracks Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. Netflix puts out its own weekly audience rankings, though its numbers cannot be independently confirmed. Last week, the streaming giant announced Stranger Things 4 had the biggest opening weekend for an English-language show on the platform, getting 286.7 million hours of viewership. Squid Game holds the record for the most-viewed show on the platform in its first 28 days, with 1.6 billion hours viewed.

Further Reading

‘Stranger Things 4’ Tops ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Premiere Viewership by 300% — But It’s Also More Than 300% Longer (Variety)

‘Stranger Things’ Surges Past ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ In Streaming Showdown, Posting Biggest U.S. Debut Since March 2020, Nielsen Says (Deadline)

‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Rack Up Huge Premiere Audiences (The Hollywood Reporter)

‘Stranger Things 4’ Sets Netflix Viewership Record In Opening Weekend (Forbes)

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ And ‘Stranger Things 4’ Open With Scenes Of Violence Against Kids That Jar In Wake Of Uvalde Shooting (Forbes)

‘Bridgerton’ Breaks Another Netflix Viewing Record—But Doesn’t Come Close To Matching ‘Squid Game’ (Forbes)

Viewers Watched 193 Million Hours Of ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 Over Premiere Weekend, Setting Netflix Record (Forbes)