Why New Streaming Releases Are Constantly Breaking Viewership Records

screenrant.com:

Viewership data and other information about the popularity of new streaming content isn't always easily available, yet streaming platforms seem to report record-breaking performance for every new release. Without the transparency of traditional box office numbers or TV ratings, the data provided by streaming services like Netflix about the performance of their new releases is often the best indicator of the success of a given movie or show, but how reliable are those claims?

When movies are released in theaters, the revenue from each ticket purchase is reported as a combined box office figure, while rating surveys like Nielson have been consistent indicators of what people were watching on TV. Even straight-to-home media releases and pay-per-view VOD purchases are all reported as quantifiable measurements of financial success. With the advent of streaming, viewership data is now only properly measurable by the streaming platforms themselves, but with a lack of transparency or wider context around this limited data, it can be hard to know what these reports mean outside of the marketing benefit to streamers claiming a new release is its most popular and set new viewership records.

Related: Stranger Things Proves Netflix and Streaming Can Break TV/Movie Rules

While it makes sense that many new releases would see bigger performances, constant reports of record-breaking performance don't always seem entirely practical, especially when the data used to make these claims isn't totally clear. There's a number of factors contributing to streaming performance, from positive spin in reports from streamers to growing content budgets, so here's why they're able to make these claims and what they actually indicate.

Since streamers