It’s no secret that “Squid Game” is a massive juggernaut for Netflix, but the third and final season of the Korean-language thriller series has boosted the show into a rarified stratosphere of viewership — even by Netflix standards.
“Squid Game” Season 3, which debuted June 27, immediately broke viewership records for Netflix as it logged 60.1 million views in its first three days on the streamer — more views than any other Netflix series has secured in that timeframe — and made history as the only series to debut at No. 1 in all 93 countries that Netflix tracks during its premiere week.
While Season 3’s viewership in its first three days was enough to push it into the top 10 most popular non-English-language series, “Squid Game” Season 3 tacked on another 46.3 million views in its second week to total 106.3 million global views across its first two weeks, boosting Season 3 to rank as the No. 3 most-watched non-English-language series on Netflix ever, behind “Squid Game” Seasons 1 and 2.
Whereas some breakout series deliver diminishing returns as they reach subsequent seasons, “Squid Game” Season 3 debuted to a viewership comparable to Season 2, which debuted to 68 million views in its first four days. (Season 2 was released on a Thursday while Season 3 was released on a Friday.) Season 2 still has a lead on Season 3, however, having logged 126.2 million views within its first two weeks, though it should be noted that Season 2’s holiday debut — it premiered on Dec. 26 — certainly boosted those numbers.
While Netflix separates its viewership charts into English-language and non-English-language TV lists, “Squid Game” is even bigger than English-language hits like “Wednesday,” “Stranger Things” and “Bridgerton.” In fact, “Squid Game” Season 1, which has 265.2 million views to date, outpaces “Wednesday” (the most-watched English-language series), which holds 252.1 million views. (That standing could potentially change soon as viewers catch up on “Wednesday” ahead of Season 2’s two-part release in August and September.)
Similarly, “Squid Game” Season 2, which currently stands at 192.6 million views as the No. 2 most-watched non-English-language series, outpaces “Adolescence,” which is the No. 2 English-language series with 142.6 million views.
In just two weeks, “Squid Game” Season 3 surpassed current viewership numbers for “Bridgerton” Season 3, which debuted over a year ago, as well as “The Night Agent,” which was the most-watched English-language series during the first six months of 2023. Notably, “Squid Game” Season 3 is tracking well past “Stranger Things 3,” which stands at 94.8 million views since its 2019 release.
The release of “Squid Game” Season 3, which debuted just six months after Season 2 premiered, also boosted viewership for its previous installments, with Seasons 1 and 2 logging 1.7 and 2.8 million views, respectively, during Season 3’s premiere week. The trend only grew into Season 3’s second week, with Season 1 gaining another 3.8 million views while Season 2 scored another 4.9 million views. Other Korean content also scored viewership wins during Season 3’s release, with “KPop Demon Hunters” ranking as the top English-language movie during Season 3’s debut week and continuing to rake in the views as Netflix flexes its domination in the Korean content space.
In short, “Squid Game” is bigger than almost anything else on Netflix, and while Season 3 marked the end of the flagship series, no doubt the streamer is looking for ways to extend the life of this phenomenon. At least we know creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is game for a spinoff.
ESPN sees double-digit percentage gains for F1 British Grand Prix
Sunday’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix brought in 1.5 million viewers on ESPN2, with viewership peaking at 1.8 million between 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. ET as Lando Norris claimed victory. Viewership for the race was up 19% compared to last year, which averaged 1.3 million viewers, and marked the largest audience ever for the event on U.S. television, according to Nielsen.
The British GP was just one of the races seeing viewership growth this year, with F1 races averaging 1.3 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC — up 7% over the 2024 season to date and 17% over the full 2024 season average. Viewership is also up in the demo, with races averaging 511,000 viewers among adults 18-49 — up 14% over the 2024 season to date average and 24% over the full 2024 season average.
The races, of course, come as Apple just released its highly anticipated “F1” movie starring Brad Pitt in theaters, which is off to a solid start at the box office.
Fox scores 2nd most-watched MLB game
Fox’s two-game MLB slate on Saturday, which saw the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, brought in 2.51 million viewers on Fox, marking the network’s second-most-watched MLB game this season. That’s up 34% over the 1.88 million viewers on average brought in by last year’s MLB telecasts on Fox. Fox’s Saturday baseball is having its best season (through the first weekend of July) since 2021.
NewsNation bolsters annual audience
Cable news network NewsNation is posting significant gains for its primetime and full-day viewership when compared to last year.
During the week of June 30, NewsNation averaged 112,000 primetime viewers and 63,000 total-day viewers — up 27% and 47%, respectively, when compared to the week of July 1, 2024. In the 25-54 demo, NewsNation averaged 14,000 primetime viewers and 12,000 total-day viewers, up 8% and 71% from last year.
