‘Bluey’ Wins the Streaming Charts Again
Dominance, thy name is Bluey.
The plucky Australian animated series about an adorable canine family continues to be catnip for Disney+ viewers.
Bluey just won the Nielsen streaming charts again, making it THE most-watched streaming program. Here’s what happened.
Bluey Dominant
Last month, we discussed how Bluey had earned the top spot on Nielsen’s Top Ten streaming charts.
Now, history has repeated itself…and not for the first time with Bluey.
As I’d mentioned, Bluey was one of the two most-watched streaming programs in 2023.
Thus far in 2024, the show is performing even better, indicating that some fans are discovering Bluey for the first time!
Yes, even though Bluey is already at the top of the pop culture charts, it’s somehow still ascendant.
For the week of February 12th through February 18th, Bluey gained another 1.173 billion viewer minutes.
The remarkable part is that the average episode lasts about seven minutes and 15 seconds, not counting the credits.
So, my quick math suggests that people consumed about 141.8 million episodes of Bluey during the week in question.
People really love that Blue Heeler puppy and her family! At this point in 2024, Bluey is tracking ahead of last year’s pace.
I’m not going out on a limb to say that after six weeks of 2024 Nielsen charts, Bluey is the leader in the clubhouse to win the year.
Now, there is a caveat to this conversation. Bluey has aired new episodes recently, which typically leads to increased ratings.
Still, the show’s momentum feels steady and predictable now.
An Otherwise Disappointing Week for Disney
The Nielsen streaming charts were NOT Disney’s friend this week. It was a feast or famine situation with Bluey vs. everything else.
Disney+ and Hulu each failed to claim a spot on the Originals list, which is something I warned was a possibility.
Honestly, the entire Originals chart is a pretty big yawner, suggesting that we’re already feeling some impact from the Hollywood strikes.
On the Acquired list, Disney claimed one more spot with Criminal Minds, a title that will likely appear here indefinitely.
Anything on the Acquired list falls into a bucket of about 25 streaming shows that Americans watch as comfort television and background noise.
For whatever reason, criminal procedurals, which I call murder podcast programming, are quite popular this way.
As a reminder, Criminal Minds is also available on Paramount+, so Hulu only gets partial credit for the show’s 339 million viewer minutes.
On the Movies chart, Disney+ claimed a win and a loss. The loss was The Marvels, which finished in fifth place with 557 million viewer minutes.
The latest Marvel movie has already topped out after just two weeks on streaming, and it’s heading downward.
Any hope of an Elemental-type run has vanished. However, Moana excelled with 288 million viewer minutes.
So, Moana 2 appears likely to succeed, as fans are already rewatching the original in anticipation of the sequel.
On the downside, Elemental did NOT appear this week.
Given The Marvels‘ rate of decline, Disney+ will likely only claim one title on the Movies list next week.
Thankfully, a hero is on the horizon…
Taylor Swift Debuts
Did you spend Thursday evening watching Taylor Swift on Disney+?
Well, I don’t have any numbers yet, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that you weren’t alone.
This was Disney’s contingency plan for a lackluster 2023 theatrical campaign.
When Disney’s so-called flywheel works perfectly, a film’s theatrical release leads to a solid run on Disney+.
We haven’t seen that happen with Wish or The Marvels due to their tepid reception.
Similarly, Disney faces a lack of television programs right now due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes.
For the next four weeks, the Nielsen streaming ratings will mostly be unkind to Disney, save for Shogun.
However, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour will fundamentally secure Disney for several weeks after its release.
While MickeyBlog wasn’t covering Nielsen streaming ratings then, I tracked Hamilton’s performance for my podcast.
Due to its quality, the Broadway production stayed on the streaming charts for much longer than anyone could have predicted.
Similarly, Hamilton’s lengthy Broadway run had built a buzz that enticed casual viewers like me to try it.
I expect a similar performance from The Eras Tour and believe it’s secure Disney+ well into May.
By then, Hulu will be close to releasing season three of The Bear, and that one is going to dominate.
Until then, Disney will rely on Bluey and Taylor Swift to save the day.
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