Nielsen, a measurement and data analytics company, has just added Amazon Prime Video to their digital tracking service. Nielsen ratings have long been known for tracking television programming around the U.S. using a specialized system. Now, popular Amazon Prime Video shows will have access to different data and analytics too.
In 2017, Nielsen’s Subscription Video On-Demand (SVOD) Content Ratings service began tracking Netflix’s viewership, according to Variety. Two years later, Amazon Prime Video is getting the same addition to their video streaming service.
What Does It Do?
Netflix’s SVOD Content Ratings has given the company extensive data on all of their shows. This kind of data helps Netflix determine things, such as which programs are most popular and how many unique viewers there. As shown on their website, a breakdown of each episode in Stranger Things’ season two reveals how many viewers watched each episode within the first week. One could see that several million people watched the entire season within a week of its premiere.
According to their website, “Nielsen’s SVOD Content Ratings provides syndicated, independent measurement of subscription-based streamed content. SVOD Content Ratings, part of Nielsen’s Total Audience offerings, represents improved transparency within the SVOD marketplace.”
Similar to Netflix, Nielson is not tracking 100% of the company’s viewership. Amazon Prime Video’s SVOD Content Ratings only track connected-TV viewing in the U.S. This also does not include mobile devices and desktops. These limitations could make it hard to get accurate numbers, but it’s a huge leap from having no numbers at all.
Amazon Prime Video Show “The Boys”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a few months ago, Amazon Prime Video claimed that “The Boys” was one of the company’s most-watched TV shows. With Amazon Prime Video’s new SVOD Content Ratings, there are solid numbers to attest to their statement.
Nielsen revealed stats for Amazon Prime’s original show “The Boys” which is based off of a bestselling comic. The show stars Eric Kripke, Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg. The Sony Pictures Television superhero show acquired almost 8 million viewers within the first 10 days of its premiere date, according to Variety. If Nielsen also tracked international and multi-platform viewings, then that number would only be higher.
“Nielsen’s measurement in the SVOD space is invaluable for our studio to understand how our programs perform on these platforms and the audiences they attract,” James Petretti, senior vp research and analytics at Sony Pictures TV said.
Looking Toward the Future
Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys” has already received the green light for a second season. It seems that even some data is better than none at all. Company’s such as Sony Pictures TV are looking forward to using this new ratings system to help them learn more about what their audience wants.
“It becomes even more exciting for us, because Nielsen has the ability to help us understand what these audiences are doing outside of those platforms as well,” Petretti said. The service will give them the ability to track what people are watching on other on-demand and streaming platforms. He also said the information that Nielsen is now giving them is “extraordinarily compelling.”
