US-based Nielsen ratings service is offering its first data on how many people actually watch Netflix’s original series in the first week following their release, but the streaming video company was quick to dispute the figures.
In a statement to Variety, Netflix said “The data that Nielsen is reporting is not accurate, not even close, and does not reflect the viewing of these shows on Netflix.”
Netflix isn’t providing the data: Nielsen uses the same “people-meter” technology it employs for traditional TV ratings to measure Netflix’s movies, original series and reruns of older series. However, by using the tradtional measurement technology, Nielsen does not track viewing on mobile devices, thereby distorting the actual viewing figures.
According to Nielsen, the first episode of The Defenders averaged 6.1 million viewers in the week following its August 18 release, while House of Cards and Fuller House each averaged 4.6 million viewers for season premieres in the weeks beginning May 30 and September 22, respectively.
Nielsen is only tracking Netflix for now, but expects to start getting data from Amazon and Hulu streaming services by next year.
