It should come as no surprise that Making a Murderer is among the top four — we all saw the tweets, petitions, and armchair detective efforts, after all. Aziz Ansari’s Master of None was right up there as well, along with the animated sitcom F is for Family and the latest Marvel series for Netflix, Jessica Jones. After those four, traditional broadcast networks finally started to rank, with Fox’s Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy claiming the next spots.
Making a Murderer‘s appeal extended beyond the 18-24 demographic. In fact, the series was also a strong performer among adults aged 25-34 and 35-54. The show was ranked as the former group’s favorite and the latter’s third-favorite. Aside from Making a Murderer, though, the older demo’s top 10 included only series from broadcast networks.
The findings support other studies that have found that younger generations lean toward digital offerings over traditional TV. As such, it’s likely that Netflix’s success isn’t solely based on the quality of its content.
“Adults 18-24 are leading the charge for accessing TV through non-paid methods, like sharing passwords, which you can do on Netflix,” said Laura Grover, senior VP of Client Solutions at Symphony. “Netflix also has the [largest] subscriber base out of all the [digital] services. They have the largest audience available to them, and that is coming through the numbers.”
Symphony found that one-third of the 18-24 demo has already cut the cord, and that another quarter are planning to do so. It’s data like this that has traditional networks reeling. If they can’t find ways to adapt, Internet TV networks like Netflix will continue to dominate.
