The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power fell off some in its third week of release, but the pricey Prime Video show remained among the most watched titles in Nielsen’s rankings. Netflix’s Cobra Kai, meanwhile, spent a second week as the top overall title.
The Rings of Power had 988 million minutes of viewing time in the United States from Sept. 12-18, per Nielsen (the show’s fourth episode debuted Sept. 16). That’s a decline of about 18 percent from the previous week’s 1.2 billion minutes. The series amassed 3.44 billion minutes of viewing over its first 18 days, placing it among the top half of Prime Video shows since the advent of Nielsen’s streaming rankings, with four weeks still to be tallied.
Cobra Kai edged up about 10 percent for the week, finishing with 1.92 billion minutes of watch time in the first full week after its fifth season premiered Sept. 9. It was the only title to top a billion minutes for the week; two other titles that crossed the mark fell off considerably. Netflix’s Devil in Ohio declined by 60 percent from 1.38 billion minutes to 552 million, and Thor: Love and Thunder dropped by 59 percent (1.5 billion minutes to 621 million) on Disney+.
The Handmaid’s Tale cracked the top 10 original series for the week of its fifth season premiere on Hulu, coming in with 581 million minutes. House of the Dragon led acquired series with 960 million minutes of viewing on HBO Max (that total doesn’t include anyone who watched on the HBO cable channels), and The Crown (796 million minutes) more than doubled in the week following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing on TV sets only and don’t include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices. The ratings only measure U.S. audiences, not those in other countries, and currently only include Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix and Prime Video.
Nielsen’s top streaming series for Sept. 12-18 are below.
Original Series
1. Cobra Kai (Netflix), 1.92 billion minutes viewed
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video), 988 million
3. The Crown (Netflix), 796 million
4. Sins of Our Mother (Netflix), 661 million
5. The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), 581 million
6. Devil in Ohio (Netflix), 552 million
7. The Imperfects (Netflix), 533 million
8. Fate: The Winx Saga (Netflix), 524 million
9. Stranger Things (Netflix), 479 million
10. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Disney+), 403 million
Acquired Series
1. House of the Dragon (HBO Max), 960 million minutes
2. In the Dark (Netflix), 825 million
3. Cocomelon (Netflix), 785 million
4. Game of Thrones (HBO Max), 700 million
5. NCIS (Netflix), 635 million
6. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 592 million
7. The Big Bang Theory (HBO Max), 504 million
8. Bluey (Disney+), 503 million
9. Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 443 million
10. Friends (HBO Max), 433 million
