7.2 bn minutes in a week: 'Stranger Things' breaks Nielsen's streaming record

Los Angeles, July 2

The hit OTT series 'Stranger Things' has become the most-viewed programme in a single week as per the market research and measurement company Nielsen's newly released streaming Top 10 records, reports 'Variety'.

The science fiction drama was viewed for 7.2 billion minutes between May 30 and June 5, which was Season 4 Volume 1's first full week of availability, easily landing in the No. 1 position on the chart.

Previously, 'Tiger King' and 'Ozark' were the only titles to have crossed 5 billion minutes viewed in one week, both reaching that milestone in March 2020.

'Variety' notes that the premiere weekend of Season 4 Volume 1 also landed at No. 1. Between the May 27 debut and the end of the viewing window on May 29, the series brought in 5.1 billion minutes viewed.

Netflix's self-reported numbers for the premiere weekend, according to 'Variety', indicate that 'Stranger Things' Season 4 Volume 1, which consists of seven episodes clocking in at roughly nine hours, was viewed for 286.8 million hours - or roughly 17.2 billion minutes.

However, because Nielsen combines viewership of all available seasons, a more apt comparison would be Netflix's reporting that between May 23 and May 29, Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 were viewed for a combined 371.3 million hours -- or 22.3 billion minutes -- versus Nielsen's 5.1 billion.

Still, because Netflix measures viewing across all devices while Nielsen counts only TV viewing, a discrepancy remains.