Georgia Entertainment Scene
Georgia Entertainment Scene

Nielsen estimates 'Stranger Things 2' ratings: 15.8 million

Hopper and Eleven bond during 'Stranger Things 2." CREDIT: Netflix

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Hopper and Eleven bond during 'Stranger Things 2." CREDIT: Netflix
By
Nov 2, 2017

Posted Thursday, November 2, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

Netflix has a thing about not releasing any viewership data. They have no advertisers. So they don't have to.

But people like to measure success and Nielsen is aiming to try to gauge streaming services the way it does broadcast and cable TV. Over the first three days after Atlanta-produced "Stranger Things 2" came out a week ago, Nielsen determined that 15.8 million watched the show in the United States while the other eight episodes averaged about 4 million views each. (Deadline reported the data first.)

Nielsen said 361,000 people binge-watched all nine episodes over the first three days.

ExploreThere are about 53 million Netflix subscribers in the United States. 

That 15.8 million figure would place "Stranger Things 2" on par with the most watched TV shows such as "NCIS," "The Big Bang Theory," "This is Us" and "The Walking Dead."

Nielsen measures only TV viewing, not those watching on mobile devices. So actual viewership is definitely higher.

Stranger Things with Eight and Eleven together during the episode a lot of people hated. CREDIT: Netflix

Credit: Rodney Ho

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Credit: Rodney Ho

About the Author

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

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