Netflix Overtakes Rival Streaming Giants With ‘Harry & Meghan’ Breaking Year-Long Viewership Records

via Getty
WINDSOR, UNITED KINGDOM – MAY 19: Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex wave as they leave Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The American streaming giant has always been one of the leading streamers in the television industry, boasting some of its top blockbusters of all time. Along with the internet’s current obsession with franchises like House of Cards, Stranger Things, The Witcher and others, a record-breaking ‘Royal’ Docuseries, Harry & Meghan has made it to the top, like no other. And other streaming platforms cannot come close enough to it.
As reported by Daily Express, the controversial Harry & Meghan docuseries by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been giving other streamers tough competition. And now it has officially taken over Netflix’s top rivals like Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus Hotstar.
Netflix's documentary series about Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan has racked up more viewing time on the streaming service than any other documentary during its first week.
MORE: https://t.co/vRCo52DQxJ pic.twitter.com/WYqINICsNa
— The Project (@theprojecttv) December 14, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The enormous stardom of the tell-all six-part-docuseries far outweighs any backlash and disputes from media and outraged viewers. For the record, Prime Video’s highest-rated franchise, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s first episode, managed to accumulate 3.2 million viewers. On the other hand, Disney Plus Hotstar-hosted Star of Wars spin-off Obi-Wan Kenobi amassed 3.1 million in the first week of its release.
To top them all, the stirring royal docuseries, on the other hand, broke worldwide charts with a viewership record of 4.2 million merely on the first of its six bombshell episodes. It, in fact, emerged as the UK’s third most-watched show on any streaming platform. Nonetheless, the streak did not end there.
How did Prince Harry’s memoir give a boost to Harry & Meghan?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Prince Harry dropped another nuke on his estranged family in the United Kingdom by releasing his memoir, Spare. The record-breaking memoir made its way to the Book of Guinness World Records for being the best top-selling non-fiction of all time. The book, in fact, killed two birds with one stone as it fetched another hoard of viewers to Netflix’s Docuseries.
The first half of Harry & Meghan has been @Netflix's biggest documentary debut of all time. A rep says it debuted with 81.55M hours viewed by over 28 million households (in four days), the highest of any doc in a premiere week. It's currently the #2 English TV series globally.
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) December 13, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Having become the most viewed debut documentary series to date, Harry & Meghan officially registered a total of 81.55 million hours watched in its first week of December release. The series that evidently took the internet by storm, spent weeks being in the top 10 most-watched shows in 85 countries and naturally, the number 1 in the United Kingdom.
Have you watched the explosive Sussex docuseries on Netflix yet? Tell us how you liked it in the comments below.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT