The Rings of Power’ Season 1 Struggled to Retain Viewership

[Victariongreyjoy]

Very little lore can compare to the work put into the creation of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. A brilliant literary piece that immerses its readership. So it was no surprise that when Peter Jackson pulled off his Lord of the Rings trilogy, coupling his own genius to Tolkien's birthed an epic masterpiece. Despite his next crack at the lore flopping somewhat with The Hobbit trilogy, expectations were high when Amazon Studios announced a new series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. But it would seem that one of the most expensive series ever had a challenge with its viewership.

The show's premiere did not disappoint, pulling in an impressive 25 million viewers to join the return to Middle Earth breaking records for the streamer along the way. By end of the eight-episode first season, Amazon Studios head Vernon Sanders touted the series as the studio's "most watched show ever" and with good reason given that Rings of Power had been seen by 100 million people worldwide with more than 24 billion minutes streamed. However, a new report from The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that in the United States, only 37 percent of viewers who started the series, saw it to its completion. The numbers from international audiences fared better, however, it still had less than half of its viewers complete the adventure with just 45 percent. By industry standards, a 50 percent completion rate is seen as "solid" albeit not ideal.

This report does not come from Amazon officially but was reportedly from individuals within the organization. Amazon is prepared to continue to view Rings of Power as a success, having gone into production for Season 2 in October, with the series set to return in 2024, Amazon Studios CEO Jennifer Salke wants to remain positive. Per the same report, Salke dismisses the assertion that the show's inability to retain viewers is a problem stating that the fantasy series remains a hit in hand for Amazon. "This desire to paint the show as anything less than a success — it’s not reflective of any conversation I’m having internally," she said, adding that the second season will have even bigger, more dramatic storylines. "That’s a huge opportunity for us. The first season required a lot of setting up."

https://collider.com/rings-of-power-...-1-viewership/

[Snowdog]

Interesting to know the parameter used. It reads like it is calculating week-to-week viewership. If so, I would be considered one who "didn't stick with it".

However, I found the weekly episode format didn't do the show any favors, and after watching weekly the first four episodes, I waited until the remaining four dropped before finishing it. I then re-watched the complete series in a binge, and enjoyed it very much.

[Galadriel55]

Agreed with Snowdog, but also - very clearly they are using nothing more than subscriber numbers to gauge the worth of a show. And certainly it is one metric, but it almost seems like a logical fallacy where if someone watches it, that makes it good. Yes, ghe entertainment industry still runs on money etc etc, but where is even the pretense that this is all being done for the sake of making actually good art rather than just sellable art? And the part at the end of the quote -

"This desire to paint the show as anything less than a success — it’s not reflective of any conversation I’m having internally," she said, adding that the second season will have even bigger, more dramatic storylines. "That’s a huge opportunity for us. The first season required a lot of setting up."

If someone criticises you, and your response is that it doesn't align with your internal conversation... Well, sure, go on then. Plug your ears with carrots and keep at it. You are perfect in every way. I just feel like this is the continuation of the pre-release attitude where anyone who would criticise the show would be branded a hater of some variety. You either like it, or you're wrong.

[Snowdog]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

"... this is the continuation of the pre-release attitude where anyone who would criticise the show would be branded a hater of some variety. You either like it, or you're wrong."

The other side of this pre-release coin was if you liked anything about Rings of Power you were automatically branded an Amazon schill.

Somewhat tangent to the subject, but what does Amazon (Netflix, Disney, etc.) count as a 'view'? Curious how deep it is tracked. If someone starts a stream, is that a 'view'? Or does it have to be connected for the entire show? I myself have started many shows and got ¼, ½, even ¾ of the way through an episode and decided the series is a waste of time. One thing I like about Netflix is I can give shows either one or two thumbs up, or a thumbs down, with the additional 'rating' of not choosing any of them.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

AIUI, Amazon keeps two sets of books. One, which the PR department uses for press releases, counts a "view" any time anyone watches even five seconds of an upload. The other, used internally and strictly hidden from outsiders, counts minutes watched and whether the show was watched beginning to end.

[Snowdog]

With the approach of season 2, I again watched season 1. I definitely like the 'binge' format better than the weekly wait format.
I'm glad they are releasing 3 episodes as a premiere. I may wait the five weeks after that to watch the rest of the episodes.

Release Schedule for Season 2:

• Episode 1 - Thursday, August 29.
• Episode 2 - Thursday, August 29.
• Episode 3 - Thursday, August 29.
• Episode 4 - Thursday, September 5.
• Episode 5 - Thursday, September 12.
• Episode 6 - Thursday, September 19.
• Episode 7 - Thursday, September 26.
• Episode 8 - Thursday, October 3.