Thanks to Game of Thrones, HBO pulls ahead of Netflix

Parrot Analytics, a research company that synthesizes data about TV viewing habits, has released a new study comparing the success of original content across three popular platforms: Netflix, Amazon, and HBO. The study (called “Incumbents and Challengers”) is a good read on its own, but the takeaway for purposes of this site is simple: HBO’s original content is demanded more than any of its competitors’, thanks mainly to Game of Thrones.

To gather its data, Parrot looks at how often people mention wanting to see a given show, and weighs each mention (or “demand expression”) according to how passionate the person is about it. Data is culled from a large variety of platforms, including social media outlets, blogging sites, peer-to-peer protocols, and much more. Parrot CEO Wared Seger claims that this method delivers more accurate results than traditional survey and panel-based measurements, especially in today’s world, where all the kids are on the Twitter and the Instagram and whatnot.

Anyway, Game of Thrones received a crapton more demand expressions than the other original content Parrot looked at, especially in the U.S.

Parrot also looked at demand in the U.K. and in Australia, and while the difference between demand for Game of Thrones and demand for other shows wasn’t quite as stark in those areas as it was in the U.S. (in fact, in Australia, Game of Thrones was neck-and-neck with Netflix’s Orange is the New Black), GoT was always the leader of the pack.

Considering the popularity of Game of Thrones, not to mention strong performances from several of its other shows, Parrot wasn’t surprised to find that HBO had the highest average demand in all three markets in considered. However, if Game of Thrones was removed from the occasion, Parrot found that HBO pulled about equal with Netflix. No wonder HBO President Michael Lombardo once wished for the show to run for 10 seasons—HBO probably wants to maintain its lead as long as it can.

Meanwhile, Amazon trailed far behind both HBO and Netflix. Again, the full study is good fun, especially if you’re wild for graphs and charts and data and stuff.

Note: Although the point of this study is to compare the success of original TV content being produced for non-traditional services, it should be noted that if you have an HBO subscription, you can watch Game of Thrones and other HBO programs like you would a normal network TV show. Still, with HBO’s attempts to cut cables with services like HBO Now, I think its inclusion here is justified.

Next: Game of Thrones Season 6 coming in April, per very revealing promotional image

H/T Screen Daily