NetflixFrank Underwood is not going to be pleased.
Netflix's ratings have been revealed--kind of!
Though the online streaming giant has vowed to never reveal its audience numbers for its original series, like Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards, among others, Luth Research, a San Diego-based company, has figured out a way to crunch the numbers, and now, as first reported by Variety, they're revealing Netflix's recent ratings. The results? Well, they will definitely surprise you.
And Netflix's No. 1 series is...Daredevil!
But there's a catch. According to Luth, who confirmed the report's findings to E! News, the superhero series, the first of five Marvel-Netflix pairings, has had 10.7 percent of Netflix subscribers watch at least one episode since its debut on April 10. House of Cards, which debuted its third season on Feb. 27, has been watched by 6.5 percent of subscribers. And Daredevil wasn't the only new series to best House of Cards, as The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt engaged 7.3 percent of subscribers.
However, Bloodline, Netflix's latest drama starring Kyle Chandler, only managed to attract 2.4 percent.
Despite Daredevil's impressive debut, House of Cards remains Netflix's most-watched series in March overall, with 6.4 percent of subscribers watching, with its third season being binge-watched more than any other series, as well.
So why has Netflix decided to keep their numbers under lock and key?
"The biggest [reason] is that most of the business reasons why you would publish ratings is you would use it to justify ad rates and we don't sell advertising, and you might use it to justify carriage fees to cable operators and we don't have those relationships with cable operators," Ted Sarandos, Netflix's Chief Content Officer, explained to reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour in January. "So there's no real business reason for us to internally or externally report those numbers."
According to Variety, who first reported Luth's findings, the research company calculated the ratings by sampling 2,500 Netflix subscribers, who watched on their computers, tablets or smartphones (they've yet to find a way to include viewers who watch on TVs).
Netflix had no comment.