Controversy Is Helping Hulu
An old Hollywood adage has proven correct yet again.
Controversy is helping Hulu even as it causes huge headaches for Disney executives.
Photo: Tech Crunch
Let’s discuss a fascinating week of Nielsen streaming ratings that prove controversy is good for business.
The Highly Watched ‘Lives of Mormon Wives’
Here’s an NBC News article from the other day about a Hulu reality star.
You actually can’t read it because Comcast, in its infinite wisdom, just put NBC News behind a paywall.
Photo: Hulu
But the article creates a timeline for the recent drama involving Taylor Frankie Paul.
The star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives found herself in hot water after a video surfaced.
Photo: Hulu
In a fit of rage, Paul had thrown a chair at her boyfriend despite the presence of her children.
The chair struck one of her children, an indefensible action that speaks for itself.
Photo: Hulu
We only recently learned that Paul won’t face charges for her actions, which tells the whole story.
Disney cast a highly volatile person as an anchor talent for its Hulu program.
The end results have been predictable, with good and absolutely atrocious news for Disney.
The good news is that the so-called founder of the MomTok movement has drawn epic ratings.
deadline
The absolutely atrocious news is pretty much everything else involving Paul.
Disney went all-in on Paul after the successful first season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (SLMW).
ABC
ABC cast her as The Bachelorette in a season you’ll never see because they later buried the footage.
And the timeline of these events is what matters for the sake of our conversation.
A Strange Month at Hulu
As I discussed last week, SLMW premiered its fourth season on March 12th.
That date is exceptionally important, but before I get to why, let’s remember the data.
The season premiere attracted 722 million viewer minutes on last week’s chart.
Nielsen tracked data on that chart through March 15th.
At the time, what passed for controversy on the show was the absence of a co-star on the poster. Friends, a lot can change in a month, and here’s your proof.
Photographer: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
On March 16th, allegations emerged involving Paul and her ex.
Note that these were not allegations about the thrown chair. That wouldn’t come until later.
Deadline
From the Nielsen Streaming Ratings perspective, March 16th signaled the start of a new ratings week.
I mention that because the second week of the show’s new season increased its viewership.
For the week of March 16th through March 22nd, SLMW earned 776 million viewer minutes.
And I’m pretty sure it’s just getting started. The TMZ chair video came out on the 19th.
Photo: Disney
While that’s still within the same week, the controversy hasn’t slowed down for a month.
Disney has faced constant criticism for its handling of Paul, which is a problem yet to be solved.
Photo: Hulu
However, from a ratings perspective, season four of the show appears likely to soar in the ratings.
This is happening even though Paul’s pursuers on The Bachelorette have denounced her. Similarly, the remaining Mormon Wives have indicated they want to wash their hands of it.
Filming for season five has remained on hold while Disney decides how to proceed.
Photo: Hulu
I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen next, but one thing is clear.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives isn’t very secret anymore, and people are curious about it due to the controversy.
Disney’s Other Streaming Hits
Photo: Disney
Disney got some non-reality show great news last week, as Zootopia 2 soared again.
During the movie’s first full week on streaming, Zootopia 2 claimed another 1.306 billion viewer minutes.
Photo: Disney
That’s more than three billion minutes in just 12 days. That’s exemplary.
Grey’s Anatomy has also been on the rise recently, partially due to the new episodes.
Image Credit: ABC
All of Hulu’s shows that also air on network television benefit from their latest seasons.
Usually, the impact is most noticeable for Fox animated shows, but it helps ABC dramas, too.
Photo: Disney
For the week in question, Grey’s Anatomy garnered 918 million viewer minutes.
That’s the high end of its ratings, as it doesn’t eclipse one billion as a rule.
Photo: Bluey.tv
As for Bluey, I haven’t discussed the show much lately, as there’s not much to say.
The show gained another 835 million viewer minutes, and this appears to be its range right now.
Photo: Disney
However, that should change in May when new minisodes appear on Disney+.
My understanding is that Bluey’s Big Play – The Stage Show didn’t impact the show’s ratings any.
Photo: Disney
Nielsen appears to have listed it individually, which is what should happen.
Anyway, here are Disney’s other streaming hits:
Photo: Fox
- Family Guy – 677 million viewer minutes
- The Rookie – 601 million viewer minutes
- Bob’s Burgers – 591 million viewer minutes
- NCIS – 445 million viewer minutes
Fox
On a seemingly unrelated note, Disney just renewed The Rookie for season nine.
Nathan Fillion has now starred in two different ABC series that lasted for eight seasons.
When The Rookie’s ninth season begins, it will surpass Castle’s run, at least in terms of seasons.
Castle aired 173 episodes, while The Rookie is currently at 141. So, it still has some work to do on that front.
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Feature Photo: Hulu
