Disney Plus has long been touted as the biggest rival to Netflix, and now the Mouse House’s service has finally scored a huge win over the streaming giant, which may be a sign of things to come. For the first time, Disney Plus has managed to reach the top spot on the weekly Nielsen ratings.
Since Nielsen began compiling a weekly streaming Top 10, Netflix has never missed out on the number one position, until the week beginning December 14th, which just so happened to deliver the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian. Though the first run of the live-action Star Wars series was an instant smash, becoming the most talked-about show on social media, D+ only had 10 million subscribers upon launch, meaning that its debut run fell some 40% lower in the ratings than Stranger Things season 3.
Fast forward a year, however, and D+ had ballooned to over 70 million subscribers. Season 2 consistently wowed viewers, too, with interest growing over time. Leading to “Chapter 16: The Rescue” being crowned the most popular TV show on streaming that week.
Below you’ll find the top 10 list of TV titles on streaming for the week starting December 14th and as you can see, every other place on the table is occupied by Netflix, with The Office – which left the site to go up on Peacock instead at the end of December – coming in second. As you can imagine, The Mandalorian set a new record for Disney Plus as well with its 1.34 billion minutes of viewing time.
1. The Mandalorian (Disney+), 1.34 billion
2. The Office (Netflix), 1.31 billion
3. The Crown (Netflix), 772 million
4. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 762 million
5. Manhunt: Deadly Games (Netflix), 712 million
6. Supernatural (Netflix), 684 million
7. Virgin River (Netflix), 681 million
8. Criminal Minds (Netflix), 651 million
9. Schitt’s Creek (Netflix), 597 million
10. A California Christmas (Netflix), 581 million
It’s no wonder that the Mouse House is pressing ahead with franchising out The Mandalorian, then, with various spinoffs in the works. In fact, just prior to this record being set, the studio unveiled plans for 10 new Star Wars series at Disney’s Investor Day. Over the next couple of years, fans can look forward to the likes of The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic, as well as The Mandalorian season 3. It’s a fair bet that this won’t be the last time that Disney Plus beats out Netflix to the ratings’ top spot, then.
