Cobra Kai claimed yet another win for Netflix in the streaming wars after the Karate Kid spin-off outclassed its juggernaut opponents HBO's House of the Dragon and Amazon's Rings of Power for at least two weeks straight.
The fifth season of Cobra Kai dropped on Netflix on September 9, after the two fantasy series already had three episodes to their name, easily beating both on the week of its premiere, and it seems that momentum held strong. Prior to this piece of data being out, other metrics had shown overall interest in House of the Dragon was almost double that of Rings of Power, and though the two shows are some of the hottest content out right now, they’re no match for Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso.
According to Nielsen, the leading source for viewership ratings, these three were indeed the most-watched shows in the United States from September 12 through 18. Cobra Kai racked up 1,918 million minutes of viewing time, while Rings of Power has 988 million and House of the Dragon earned 960 million in total. The numbers come with a small caveat, that being the fact that Cobra Kai's performance accounts for all five seasons available on Netflix and plenty of binge-viewing potential, whereas House of the Dragon figures don’t take into consideration those who watch the series through regular HBO cable TV, only streaming.
The rest of the overall top 10 is rounded off by several Netflix regulars such as In the Dark, The Crown, Cocomelon, Sins of Our Mother, and NCIS. Meanwhile, House of the Dragon's success seems to have renewed interest in Game of Thrones, which took the seventh spot. Surprisingly, Thor: Love and Thunder is the only movie at number 10, with Disney Plus finding She-Hulk in Nielsen’s number 10 spot for original content at 403 million minutes.
As far as other original shows go, The Handmaid's Tale (the only Hulu exclusive), Devil in Ohio, The Imperfects, Fate The Winx Saga, and Stranger Things also pop up, in that order. Even if these numbers are not hard proof that Cobra Kai is indeed more popular than HBO and Amazon's big-budget productions, it definitely confirms that the karate teen dramedy is one of Netflix's best-performing properties.
Another interesting fact is that House of the Dragon and Rings of Power seem to share a lot of fans, as roughly one-third of the people who watch one also tune in for the other, so expect plenty of Halloween costumes based on the two. The Rings of Power finale just came out, meaning in all likelihood House of the Dragon and its Targaryen conflicts will get to enjoy at least two weeks sitting alone at the top.
Cobra Kai seasons 1-5 are now available on Netflix.
Source: Nielsen