Yahoo Finance I’m A Celebrity return draws five times as many viewers as Netflix's The Crown
Almost five times more viewers tuned into the return of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here as watched the most popular episode of The Crown's fifth series, new figures reveal, as Netflix continues to lag behind its traditional TV rivals.
In the week since the new series of the royal drama launched, the most watched episode of The Crown’s fifth series has pulled in around 2.6m viewers.
That makes it the streaming platform’s most-viewed show over the period, according to Barb figures from Overnights.tv. The first episode of the flagship programme attracted 1.1m viewers on its first day.
However, the audience for episode two pales in comparison with the 12.3m viewers who tuned into the opening episode of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity in its first week.
Netflix this month joined TV ratings body Barb, meaning official viewing data is available for the first time.
It shows that millions of Britons are still flocking to broadcast favourites despite the rapid growth of streaming.
The BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing attracted 9.9m viewers on Saturday November 5, according to the latest available figures.
The Great British Bake Off – one of Channel 4’s biggest shows – racked up an audience of 7.4m the same week, while soap opera stalwart Coronation Street gained 5.5m viewers.
Ian Whittaker, a media analyst, said that while Netflix had enjoyed a strong launch for the new series of The Crown, it was “still not a patch” on traditional TV.
He said: “If you think about the amount of money Netflix would have put into advertising The Crown, the amount of free news coverage it got because of all the publicity surrounding it and the splash it made, you would say it’s definitely a good launch, definitely people are interested in it, but it still doesn’t deliver anywhere near the audience of linear programmes.”
Industry figures said comparing audiences between traditional TV and on-demand platforms was difficult.
Broadcast numbers reflect consolidated seven-day viewing figures for a single programme, while those for streaming services are based on average audiences for the first week of their availability.
The Crown’s viewing numbers are likely to keep building over the coming weeks and months, whereas I’m A Celebrity, which runs nightly for 22 days, is unlikely to attract a large audience once the series is over.
The Barb figures are also limited to TV viewing, meaning they do not factor in audiences who watch on laptops and phones.
The Crown, which has emerged as one of Netflix’s most successful shows, has sparked controversy for playing fast and loose with the truth.
Last month Dame Judie Dench called for a disclaimer to be added to The Crown to clarify it is a drama, accusing the makers of the series of “blur[ring] the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism”.
The release of the latest series of the royal drama, which follows the Royal Family in the 1990s, comes at a crucial time for Netflix, which revealed its first ever drop in subscriber numbers earlier this year as consumers begin to tighten their belts amid the cost-of-living crisis.
The US giant launched a cheaper, ad-supported version of its platform this month in the hopes of drawing in an even bigger audience and attracting viewers who are looking to cut costs as inflation soars.
The 22nd series of I’m A Celebrity launched on November 6, with contestants returning to Australia after two years of filming in Wales due to the pandemic.
The reality TV show, which places a line-up of stars in a jungle camp to face gruelling challenges, has garnered particular attention this season due to the inclusion of Conservative MP Matt Hancock.
The former health secretary has had the Tory whip suspended as a result. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “disappointed” at his decision to go on the ITV show.
