Adult Animation Soars in Popularity on Streaming
To err is human, to forgive divine.
I’m saying that because the foremost streaming ratings tracking service just admitted it made an oopsie.
Overall, this is terrific news for Disney, but this week’s intel comes with an asterisk and some explaining.
On the bright side, adult animation has soared in popularity on streaming services, and we’ve (finally) got the numbers to prove it!
“Did I Do That?”
Fun fact: The Nielsen Corporation is a few months older than The Walt Disney Company.
The Nielsen television ratings you’ve heard about your entire life – presuming you’re over 25 – got their start in 1950.
That was the first television season that used Nielsen to track the number of viewers for various programs.
Let’s just say that it’s a storied business and a trusted industry source.
Alas, the disruption of linear television has impacted more than just the networks and production studios.
Nielsen has struggled mightily in recent years, which is why I list a plethora of asterisks when discussing their data each week.
Well, the most recent lists come with the biggest asterisk in a while. Nielsen just revealed it’s been missing some stuff.
In an article reported by Variety, Nielsen officials say they have “expanded (their) streaming measurement capability.”
That’s corporate rhetoric here. The next comment explains what has really happened.
“(A) combination of previous business agreements and technical aspects of measurement prevented several acquired series from inclusion in its weekly rankings.”
So, “while most of those titles would not have made the Top 10 anyways, some are debuting for the first time thanks to more accurate analysis.”
As you’re about to see, several of the notable exclusions from previous charts turned out to be Hulu’s vaunted Adult Animation titles.
However, the most notable oversight impacts a shared Netflix/Hulu title, the medical drama, The Resident.
After never appearing on the Nielsen charts previously, The Resident debuts with 1.48 billion minutes watched.
Basically, Nielsen just confessed that it has been excluding one of THE most watched streaming programs before now. Oops.
Adult Animation Is Dominant
Less than a year ago, Hulu added a new splash page and section called Animayhem.
At the time, I commented that adult animation has evolved into one of the most popular forms of streaming entertainment.
Many people (including me) turn on our favorite animated series and just let it run as comfort television playing in the background.
Some less heralded Nielsen data underscores the sustained appeal of programs like Futurama, which has charted on Nielsen.
However, I’ve expressed confusion over the absence of a couple of Seth MacFarlane programs.
Well, I just got my answer, and it’s that Nielsen hadn’t been tracking this stuff previously.
I say this because the charts for March 25th through March 31st show Family Guy with 837 million viewer minutes.
That total shows that Family Guy is currently the sixth-most-watched streaming program for the week in question.
As a reminder, you generally only need something in the range of 400 million viewer minutes to chart on the Acquired list.
Family Guy’s total is double that, even though there weren’t any new episodes or reasons for a sudden show of strength.
Nielsen just hasn’t been tracking Family Guy for whatever reason.
Similarly, MacFarlane’s other storied series, American Dad, claimed 619 million viewer minutes as well.
Given that these series include 428 and 362 episodes, respectively, none of this should be a surprise.
Series don’t get renewed for 20+ seasons unless they’re wildly popular.
Nielsen’s licensing rights apparently prevented their tracking the data.
Now that we have it, we can see that Hulu is performing MUCH better with some catalog titles than anyone had realized.
When Disney CEO Bob Iger speaks confidently about Hulu, this is the sort of intel he has that we’ve been lacking before now.
Disney’s Other Streaming Hits
Overall, this would have been a strong week for Disney streaming programs anyway. The adult animation reveal is just the cherry on top.
I say this because Shogun on Hulu remained strong with another 422 million viewer minutes.
The series – or first season? – just ended the other day. Its finale was a bit divisive, which isn’t a surprise to fans of the book.
So, I’m curious to see how Disney approaches the future of this brand.
Also on Hulu, Grey’s Anatomy and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit gained 778 and 663 million viewer minutes.
As a reminder, Hulu shares distribution with Netflix, which means most of that viewing happened on the latter service.
Still, Hulu claimed at least a piece of five of the ten Acquired titles this week.
That fact finally explains why Disney has been so confident about Hulu, which the previous data had suggested was underachieving.
Meanwhile, Disney’s other perennial chart entries also appeared.
Bluey had a down week for it – no joke! – with “only” 963 million viewer minutes.
Remember that the heavily hyped episode, The Sign, didn’t come out for another two weeks.
The Sign’s impact probably won’t be felt until three charts from now since it’ll only count for one day in the second week.
Moana also made her usual appearance with 322 million viewer minutes.
Finally, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour claimed 234 million viewer minutes. So, it did chart for one more week.
Still, Nielsen’s recently revealed blind spot for adult animation programming applies here, too.
Nielsen doesn’t track people watching programs on their phones, and that’s probably the primary means of consuming Taylor Swift.
Do better, Nielsen!
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