Yeah, I know. Saying that streaming has gone up is like reporting on how water is wet. But I know some of you are out there wondering just how wet the water actually is. By how much has this whole coronavirus quarantine inflated all those streaming numbers? Well, I’ll tell you what’s being reported, but before I do, it’s worth noting that these are third-party figures. Streaming services generally don’t divulge numbers to us lowly plebes, so we have to rely almost solely on these third-party figures.

In this case, we have Nielsen to thanks for these streaming numbers we’re about to share. According to them, in the first couple of weeks of March (2-16) saw an increase from 116.4 billion minutes streamed on streaming platforms to 156.1 billion. As you may know, not a lot of people were sheltering in place just yet, but as the threat started to loom, many understandably retreated into the world fo streaming.

But what about the figures from March 16 to 22? While we don’t know for sure what the numbers are looking like, we do know that figures have doubled from the previous year in the same week, which I’m sure surprises no one. 

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“Streaming is a big part of a lot of consumers’ lives right now. We have seen a tremendous growth in just how much streaming is going on over the last few weeks as COVID-19 becomes more prevalent across many parts of the country,” said Scott N. Brown, head of TV product at Nielsen. “The amount of time viewers are spending streaming more than doubled in the past year alone, and it’s nearly a quarter of the total time spent on TV among homes that have the ability to stream.”

Of course, television has also seen a rise in its viewership amid this whole thing, streaming has a real benefit over it.

“At some point, [viewers] are going to want to get away from the outside world and take a break. That is the real magic of streaming, being in control of what you watch entirely and being taken away from where you are — that’s the power that entertainment gives consumers and during these times, that power is invaluable.”

Netflix has taken up 29% of viewing time for that March 16 week. YouTube has taken up 20%, Hulu 10%, and Amazon 9%. All the other streaming platforms make up 31% of the total. 

What has been your streaming platform of choice over the past couple of weeks? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: THR