‘The Crown’ first premiere watched by 1.1 million people
The Crown’s new season premiered in the UK to more than a million viewers, according to the first official TV ratings report for the drama. Since joining the Barb ratings system last week, viewing statistics for the UK audience of the streaming behemoth are now available.
On Wednesday, 1.1 million people watched at least one episode of The Crown’s fifth season on television, according to Barb. Those figures contrast with the 7.9 million viewers of I’m A Celebrity on ITV.
But rather than all turning in on the same day, viewers of The Crown’s new season, which debuted amid a whirlwind of controversy and press, will watch over a longer period of time.
More people will watch it on laptops, tablets, and smartphones as well, which are not counted in the Barb statistics.
Season five’s portrayal of the Royal Family’s fortunes in the 1990s has drawn criticism for straying from historical accuracy. According to the Barb statistics, 666,000 viewers stuck around for episode two and around 300,000 watched episode three.
The ratings dropped for each succeeding episode until only roughly 100 viewers were recorded for the tenth and last episode, which suggests that they watched the entire series in one sitting when it premiered at 08:00 GMT.
It is now possible to compare show ratings across traditional broadcast networks and streaming sites, according to TV reviewer Scott Bryan.
According to him, it “does illustrate that streaming services perhaps aren’t as enormous, in terms of having millions of people viewing a new show, as you might expect” and that millions of people still prefer to watch a traditional linear channel instead, and then possibly watch a Netflix episode afterwards.
The Crown’s first-day numbers would significantly increase in the upcoming months, he continued. “Although it’s still early, I had expected it to be higher. There will be those viewers who want to watch it right away. Additionally, I anticipate that millions more people will be watching this weekend. Additionally, I believe that Christmas presents a tremendous opportunity for streaming services because many people will catch up on shows they have been meaning to watch.
The Crown’ first premiere watched by 1.1 million people
“There is a sense of urgency, which helps shows like I’m A Celebrity do very well. People must watch it right away in order to catch up on the most recent plot developments, but they won’t be doing so in a few weeks.
“With The Crown, that is not the case. In essence, these dramas are considerably longer. They frequently increase over time.”
