As the 4th annual Global TV Demand Awards approaches, it is exciting to consider what shows have captured the audience’s attention over the past year. These Guinness World Record-certified awards recognise the year’s TV shows that have garnered the most global demand within their category. As opposed to the traditional format of voting committees and judges, these awards are powered through Parrot Analytics’ global audience demand measurement system, making for a new, audience-based system of recognition. In anticipation of the event, there are many different series to look out for. Netflix’s The Witcher is one of these as it is a finalist for both the Book Adaptation category as well as the Sci-Fi & Fantasy category for the Global TV Demand Awards.
Based on Polish author, Andrzej Sapkowski’s novel series of the same name, The Witcher has reached record levels of demand in both the category of shows that have been based on a book and the science-fiction fantasy sub-genre. The show itself follows the life of Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster hunter, as he navigates the medieval landmass called “the Continent”. With its second season airing soon on December 17th, the demand for this Netflix original series could grow even more during the coming year. This article will cover the show’s current levels of demand, where this might have come from, and its potential for significant growth should its coming season be as well-received as its first.
Global Demand
The chart below shows the levels of demand for The Witcher around the world. Many of which have an outstanding level of demand, a particularly notable achievement for a show with just one season. The United States is at the top of this list, with 26.1 times more demand than the average show. Russia sits slightly below, with 23.2 times more demand than the average show. Poland, where the novels had originated from, has an outstanding level of demand, also, with 8.4 times more demand than the average show.
Another notable point to consider in regard to demand for The Witcher in Poland is that, in addition to Sapkowski’s novel series, the popular video games were produced there, also. The Polish video game developer, CD Projekt, was behind all three of The Witcher games and has recently teased the release of a fourth. The first of this game series was released in 2007 and sold one million copies during its first year. The Witcher games’ fanbase grew even more with the second and third releases. This success has led to the production of spin-off game Thronebreaker, virtual card game, Gwent, and an online multiplayer game, The Witcher Battle Arena.
Franchisability, Momentum and Travelability
The well established popularity of The Witcher story through the video games, as well as the popularity of the original novel series, could likely have been one of the reasons for the Netflix show’s success. With dedicated fanbases for both the novels and the games, as well as the accompanying merchandise, such as clothing and figurines, already existing prior to its release on Netflix, The Witcher television show had a significant amount of anticipation after the announce of its production. This would likely have had an impact on the franchisability of the show, as well as its travelability and momentum.
The chart below shows the overall performance of the show. The Witcher has 34.4 times more franchisability - which refers to the spin-off potential of a show - than the average show worldwide. This is an exceptional level as only 0.35% of all shows hold this level of franchisability. The also has exceptional scores of travelability, which indicates the popularity of a show outside of its home market, and momentum, the speed of growth in demand. This could have been due to The Witcher brand already being globally well-known through its other franchises.
In summary
It is indeed exciting days for The Witcher, not only as a television show, but also as a global franchise. With its second season coming out in less than a month’s time, it will be interesting to see how demand for the Netflix original series will be impacted before the end of the year. All in all, in anticipation of the coming Global TV Demand Awards, The Witcher is definitely one to watch.
