Netflix says You is on track to be watched by 40 million member households, but should we trust their viewership figures?

The Hollywood Reporter

The streaming service revealed some viewership data on You, Sex Education, Elite and Bodyguard. Netflix said both You -- which attracted about 1 million viewers on Lifetime -- and Sex Education are each on pace to be watched by 40 million member households within a month. But as The Hollywood Reporter notes, "the numbers for You and Sex Education are projections from Netflix, and they don't correspond directly with Nielsen ratings for traditional TV." Netflix also said Bodyguard was watched by 10 million households, while Elite was viewed by more than 20 million households. As James Poniewozik points out, we don't really know the details of Netflix's viewership numbers. "I'm not saying that streaming services' self-reported numbers are false," tweeted Poniewozik. "They may be 100% right! They may not. They may be true but cherrypicked. They may be true with an asterisk. We don't know--which is the point. But just to be clear: 40 million households watching a TV show--without explanatory context--implies that it is more popular than any TV show since the height of the three-network era before cable. Which, if a Lifetime show did that, congrats! Or maybe there is further context!"

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