Netflix shares broad ratings with debut viewing numbers, and a Belgian show did well there as well

The viewership report, which according to Netflix will be published every six months from now on, is a major reversal in policy for the company which in the past has not been willing to share this data with the competition.

“This is a huge step forward for Netflix and our industry,” the company said in a press release. “We believe the audience information contained in this report will provide creators and our industry with deeper insights into our audiences and what attracts them.”

Since 2021, Netflix has been releasing weekly Top 10 lists and a regularly updated category of the most popular shows. But the new post titled “What We Watched: Netflix Engagement Report” goes further. The report includes data for all shows that Netflix users have watched for more than 50,000 hours. That’s a total of 18,000 titles, or 99 percent of all hours watched on Netflix.

The data only covers the period from January to June 2023, which means that films and series released during that period performed better. The first season of “The Night Agent,” an American action thriller that debuted in March and has generated more than 812 million hours of viewing worldwide, topped the charts.

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Other Netflix titles that performed well included Season 2 of “Ginny & Georgia,” “The Glory,” “Wednesday” and the Bridgerton spinoff “Queen Charlotte.” Non-English programming was well represented, achieving 30% of total viewing figures. Titles in Korean and Spanish in particular scored well.

There was also a Belgian series that did well this year. Rough diamonds It ranks 168th with 72.8 million hours watched. The series revolves around the diamond trade in Antwerp. Main character Noah Wolfson, played by Kevin Janssens, returns to Antwerp for his brother’s funeral after years of leaving his Orthodox family and hanging a yarmulke on the fence. There he becomes involved in the conspiracy surrounding his father’s diamond company.

The lack of transparency over viewing numbers on streaming platforms has long drawn criticism from writers and actors and played a major role in the Hollywood strikes earlier this year. However, in a conversation with reporters, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos denied that the new initiative was the result of discussions with unions. In its early years, Netflix “didn’t want to provide a roadmap to future competitors” by sharing such valuable data, he said.

Top 20 views (in millions of hours viewed)

1. Night Agent: Season 1 (812.1)
2. Ginny and Georgia: Season 2 (665.1)
3. Glory: Season 1 (622.8)
4. Wednesday: Season 1 (507.7)
5. Queen Charlotte: The Bridgerton Story (503)
6. You: Season 4 (440.6)
7. La Reina del Sur: Season 3 (429.6)
8. Outer Banks: Season 3 (402.5)
9. Ginny and Georgia: Season 1 (302.1)
10. FOBAR: Season 1 (266.2)