Image: Longmire, Netflix
In this final blog post in the series about MIPCOM markets, we examine the biggest media market of them all: the U.S.A.
We find the most in-demand shows in the US by looking at the Average Demand Expressions™ for both Digital Original Shows and Overall Shows for the month of September.
As always, we begin our investigation by taking a look at the Digital Original Top Ten. We can immediately notice something very interesting indeed: while the top 5 Digital Original shows, per our digital TV analytics, are the same across all 4 markets, France and Germany order them differently while the U.K. and the U.S. have a Top 5 ordered exactly the same. Not only that, but the Top 5 for each also has almost identical ratios of demand! Does this mean Anglosphere markets are identical?
Naturally, the answer is no. There are, of course, some differences between the English-speaking markets. For example, the Netflix sitcom Fuller House was well received by Americans, the target market being those who would have enjoyed the original late 1980s/early 1990s sitcom Full House. As such, Fuller House makes it to position 7 on the U.S. Digital Original Top Ten while conversely, it didn’t make an impact in the UK where Full House was not as well known. Additionally, despite the U.K.’s general fondness for crime dramas the rural Wyoming setting of the Netflix show Longmire resonated far better with U.S. audiences and so it proves to be far more popular in that market.
We don’t just provide digital tv analytics, our demand measurement system is also able to measure the popularity of TV show on broadcast/linear networks. At the top of the Overall shows list and the most popular show in the U.S. for the month of September was Mr. Robot. The Season 2 finale of this critically-acclaimed thriller on September 21st meant the show had 20% more demand than second place Stranger Things. Completing the top three and only narrowly beaten to second by Stranger Things is horror anthology series American Horror Story. While also a strong performer in the French market, AHS enjoys its highest ranking here in the U.S. Top Ten
Moving to the subject of shows that do not appear in the Top Tens of other markets, the most notable example is the drama Power, which despite not being popular in other markets is 6th overall in the U.S. It would appear that the mixed critical reviews of the first and second seasons led to the show not receiving attention elsewhere, while in its home market loyal audiences and excellent critical reviews of the ongoing Season 3 are driving high demand.
The final unique show for the US market is quirky comedy Community, which manages to take tenth place in the Digital Originals Top Ten. Although not a current show (it’s sixth and to date final season ended in June last year), demand for the show has increased when it was made available on the Hulu platform in late August, exposing the show to a much wider audience.
