The Global TV Demand Awards’ winning TV shows will be announced this week on January 25 and it will be exciting to see the shows that come out on top. The awards, which are powered by Parrot Analytics’ audience demand measurement system, recognize shows with the highest demand - as opposed to traditional award shows which are based on the opinions of judges and voting committees. In the build-up to the event - as well as the accompanying virtual festival, which will be held on February 1 to February 3 - it is interesting to look over the different nominees. One of these is Cobra Kai, a sequel series to the Karate Kid film franchise, which is a nominee for the Most In-Demand Comedy Series of 2021. This article will look at the success of the third and fourth seasons of the series, as well as possible reasons behind its consistent level of demand.
Current demand
Cobra Kai was originally owned by the Youtube Red streaming service, its first season having been launched in 2018. Netflix acquired the series on the completion of the third season, after Youtube Red, now known as Youtube Premium, was rebranded - moving away from original scripted programming. While the show’s first and second seasons were praised by critics, Cobra Kai’s success reached new heights on its new streaming service, reaching over 50 million households. Now that the third and fourth seasons have been released at each end of 2021, it is interesting to see the show’s consistent success.
The chart below shows the global demand for Cobra Kai over the past thirty days. The show has an average of 59.9 times more demand than the average show worldwide, while peaking at 88.4 times more demand than the average show worldwide. This exceptional level of demand for Cobra Kai could indeed have been a result of the series’ fourth season having been released on December 31 last year. With that being said, it will be interesting to see how that impacts its chances of winning the Most In-Demand Comedy Series category in the coming Global TV Demand Awards.
Third and fourth season analysis
Both the third and fourth seasons of Cobra Kai were released in 2021, season three in January and season four in December. The chart below compares how both seasons performed in terms of demand in the periods before and after their release. Both seasons are relatively close in terms of demand, especially in the build-up to their release. Season four had reached a higher peak, with 88.4 times more global demand than the average show, while season three had slightly less demand at its peak, with 85.4 times more global demand than the average show. Though the peak was not too much higher for season four than it was for three, season four did not dip in demand during its first week after release as season three had. Overall, however, both seasons reached exceptional levels of demand during the month after their release.
Top markets
There is a diverse range of markets that have a high level of demand for Cobra Kai. The chart below shows the markets with the most demand for the series. United States, Cobra Kai’s home market, is at the top of this list, with 66.8 times more demand than the average show worldwide. The second on this list is Great Britain, with 33.5 times more demand than the average show worldwide. The high number of markets on the chart that have an outstanding level of demand for the series also indicates how travelable the show is outside of its home market.
Travelability and other interesting measurements
The chart below shows different avenues of measuring the success Cobra Kai has had over the past twelve months. The show has a very high level of travelability, which indicates the popularity of a series outside of its home market, with 46.7 times more travelability than the average show worldwide. This, as mentioned earlier, can definitely be seen in the diverse range of markets that have a high level of demand for Cobra Kai. Momentum, the indication for how fast the demand for a title has grown over the past twelve months, is also at an exceptional level for the series, with 40.5 times more momentum than the average show worldwide. Both of these measurements could indeed be a reflection of how well Cobra Kai will perform in the Global TV Demand Awards this week.
If its consistent and high level of demand is anything to go by, it can be said that Cobra Kai has done a brilliant job in bringing back memories from the original Karate Kid films and being an enjoyable show across a diverse range of markets. With these factors of success considered alongside its exceptional level of momentum and travelability, it is no surprise Cobra Kai is a finalist in the Global TV Demand Awards for the Most In-Demand Comedy Series of 2021. It will be exciting to see how well it will perform this week.
