Lauren Iungerich knows that her Netflix show, “On My Block,” was one of the most-searched-for on Google in 2018. She knows Netflix included it on a list of its most binge-watched programs that year. She knows how many Twitter followers the actors have, which she considers a sign of the show’s popularity among the young and social media obsessed.
But the one thing Iungerich doesn’t know is how many people watched the coming-of-age comedy, which debuted its third season in March. “I’m not sure what that audience is, but it feels like our show is important,” she said.
In Hollywood, knowledge is power, and creators who deliver high audience ratings on broadcast and cable earn millions. But streaming has upended the old order by allowing companies like Netflix Inc. to rope off the viewer data that empowers writers and producers. In the first quarter, Netflix added nearly 16 million paid subscribers who had nothing but time during the coronavirus pandemic to binge watch “Tiger King” and “Love Is Blind.” With the rise of streaming, creators are unable to answer a very basic question: How many people watch their shows?
On Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, viewer numbers are closely guarded. “They’re so secretive about their metrics,” star comedian Ali Wong, who had two buzzy Netflix specials, told Conan O’Brien on his podcast in March. “To this day I still don’t know how many people watched either of those specials.” Instead, Wong measures their popularity based on the attendance at her live shows. Before the first one, she couldn’t sell out a comedy club and put tickets on Groupon; after the first special premiered, her next show sold out in two minutes.