Squid Game no threat to great British hits

ONLY five of the 100 most-watched television shows in October were on streaming services, with viewers preferring the familiarity of Silent Witness.

Streaming surged during lockdown and terrestrial broadcasters are struggling to maintain their audience share.

Yet figures from BARB, the industry body that measures programme ratings, found that the viewership for new Netflix and Amazon shows paled in comparison to old British favourites.

The top 10 shows in October were led by Strictly Come Dancing (10.4 million) and The Great British Bake Off (8.9 million). The Larkins, ITV’S remake of The Darling Buds of May, was third, followed by Silent Witness and Shetland. Countryfile was sixth, ahead of Coronation Street and The Long Call, an adaptation of the Ann Cleeves detective novel. Blankety Blank was ninth.

Netflix claimed the 10th spot with Squid Game, which drew an audience of 5.8million. Globally, it was the streamer’s biggest ever launch.

The data come with a caveat, however – the technology BARB uses to measure its data, installed in 5,300 homes, does not register subtitles, which is how many Squid Game viewers watched the South Korean series. The figure listed only includes those who watched the dubbed version.

The only other Netflix entry in the top 50 was The Guilty, a film starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a 911 operator. It was one place behind an episode of ITV’S Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport.

BARB is recording streaming data alongside traditional broadcasters for the first time. Justin Sampson, its chief executive, said: “It’s been clear for some time that streaming services have started to attract viewers who have traditionally relied solely on linear channels for their viewing entertainment.”