US lockdown sees users turn to Netflix

Tiger King

Netflix has seen a usage increase of 72% in the US amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) being the most prominent streamers.

According to data from SVOD tracker NPD, the average amount of time each Netflix profile was used to stream video on a weekly basis rose 37% in the Tri-State area after shelter-in-place orders were issued on March 21 –  10% higher than the rest of the country.

John Buffone, executive director, industry analyst at The NPD Group, said: “While entertainment is not essential for survival, it’s still an essential way to stay sane, while people shelter at home. There have been notable streaming video preference shifts toward escapist titles and family programming that viewers are bingeing on to keep themselves entertained.”

A separate report from media intelligence company Digital-i looking at streaming habits in the UK has also found that in the first week of national lockdown streaming was up by 23% compared with the previous 10-week average and the average household went from watching 4.8 different titles a week to 5.6.

Breakout hit docuseries Tiger King was watched by 3 million households and accounted for 4% of total Netflix streams for the week, while other shows such as Brooklyn 99, Ozark and Better Call Saul also proved popular.