NBC reveals ‘ratings’ for Netflix series

Netflix series, Narcos

NBC has revealed what it claims to be ratings for key Netflix series.

The US broadcast net hosted a press lunch at the Television Critics Association tour that it dubbed a ‘reality check’ of the current TV landscape.

Using data from tech firm Symphony Advanced Media, which in turn used a 15,000 sample of 18-to-49s, NBC said Netflix’s Jessica Jones was viewed 4.8 million times over a 35-day period.

NBC’s president of research and media told reporters at the lunch about further Symphony findings.

Aziz Ansari’s Master of None, which is produced by NBCUniveral, had 3.9 million views, drug kingpin drama Narcos had 3.2 million views, while comedy drama Orange is the New Black registered just 644,000.

Symphony also tracked engagement with Amazon Prime Instant Video drama, reporting 2.1 million views for its big-budget original Man in the High Castle.

Netflix is notoriously shy of breaking out any viewing data, reportedly even withholding information from the producers and talent working on its original series.

Netflix, which has always said it measures success in subscriber numbers and the number of hours people watch (both of which are broken out), told DTVE‘s sister title TBI that it had no comment on the Symphony data.

Meanwhile, Netflix’s share price tumbled in trading yesterday amid wider market uncertainty and a further analyst projections of weak US subscriber growth.

It has been a tumultuous period for Netflix stock, with a sharp decline last week and then recovery as the streaming service announced a huge global rollout.

Yesterday, however, Netflix share were down over 10% on the day, ending at US$106.56.

ITG Research said it expects 1.13 million new Netflix subs in this quarter. That is below Netflix’s own guidance of 1.3 million and the wider Wall St expectation of 1.37 million.