Viewer Data: Many Netflix Hits Quickly Fizzle Out After Just a Month

Viewer data suggests that many Netflix original hit series quickly fizzle out after peaking in the first month following their debuts. Even the extremely popular Squid Game series reportedly suffered a pronounced drop after a hot start.

While Netflix releases hit original shows on a regular basis, new data suggests these series’ viewership significantly drop after their first month of release, according to a report by Variety.

TV Time — an app operated by entertainment-content insights-provider Whip Media with a reported 2.8 million global monthly users who track the movies and TV shows they’ve watched and want to watch — reveals that virtually all of the ten most viewed new Netflix titles of 2021 slowed significantly in viewership after their debut month.

Squid Game, for example, saw 73 percent of the global TV Time users noting they watched the Korean series as of January 14 (the first month following the show’s debut), with just 20 percent of the total viewing occurring within the second month.

Drops in viewership between month one and month two post-debut of 50 percentage points or more also occurred for Shadow and Bone, Fate: Winx Saga, and Sweet Tooth, Variety reports.

How quickly these hit series lose their steam among viewers could be a factor in why Netflix has to spend so much on original content, and why the streaming giant seems to be constantly replenishing more hits on the platform.

Wells Fargo reportedly projects that Netflix will spend $19 billion on content this year alone — up 13 percent from 2021.

The dropoff in interest amongst viewers may also be a contributor to the company’s recent stock market difficulties.

As Breitbart News reported earlier this month:

On Thursday, Netflix reported new subscriptions for the fourth quarter of 8.28 million, well short of the company’s own guidance of 8.5 million. The figure also fell short of certain analyst estimates, with The Street forecasting 8.4 million new customers.Reed Hastings, left, CEO of Netflix, talks with Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer of Netflix, during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 30, 2016. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Adding salt to the wound, Netflix said it expects 2.5 million net additions for the first quarter of the new year, far below the market forecast of 6.9 million, according to The Street. That’s also down from 4 million in the year-ago quarter.

“While retention and engagement remain healthy, acquisition growth has not yet re-accelerated to pre-COVID levels,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders. “We think this may be due to several factors including the ongoing COVID overhang and macro-economic hardship in several parts of the world like LATAM [Latin America].”

Breitbart News will continue to report on Netflix.

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