Mid-October flipped the streaming chart into Halloween mode. Nielsen’s U.S. TV-set ratings for Oct. 12-18 put Netflix’s Below at No. 1 with 1.3 billion viewing minutes, up from 1.19 billion a week earlier. It overtook Prime Video’s Carrie, which slipped to second place but held onto a very strong 1.08 billion minutes after a roughly 15 percent drop.
Horror franchises crowd the top of the chart
The week’s list had more seasonal texture than usual. Peacock’s Friday the 13th prequel Crystal Lake debuted in the top five originals with 774 million minutes. The Diplomat returned for its fourth season with 983 million minutes, making it the biggest debut of the week. Both premiered Oct. 15.
On the film chart, Ben Affleck’s Animals held the top spot for a second week with 756 million minutes. Disney+ titles Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas made their annual re-entry into the film rankings at 209 million and 173 million minutes. Netflix’s Love Is Blind came back with 600 million minutes, tied with East of Eden, and Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso held a top-10 original spot with 546 million minutes a week after its season finale.
Why the numbers understate total viewing
These figures measure only U.S. TV sets. Nielsen does not include computers or mobile devices, so the true audience for these titles is likely notably larger. That makes billion-minute marks even more significant for media planners who treat TV-glass viewing as the baseline, not the ceiling.
- Below showed sustained growth: 1.3B minutes in week two, up from 1.19B.
- Carrie retained over 1B minutes despite dropping from the top spot.
- Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas prove legacy titles are reusable seasonal inventory.
The platform play
Disney+ stayed competitive without a major new Halloween release, leaning on library titles. Prime Video and Peacock used franchise IP, while Netflix mixed originals, reality and returning dramas. That spread shows how different platforms can win the season with different assets.
What media planners should watch next
The mid-October window is when Halloween viewing peaks on TV screens, so buyers should lock genre-adjacent inventory early rather than waiting for a specific title to spike. Retention matters more than debut noise: Crystal Lake had a solid 774 million-minute start, but its week-two hold will signal whether the prequel has real momentum or just benefited from the Friday the 13th brand.
Treat Below‘s week-over-week gain as the chart’s most actionable signal. It rose rather than merely debuting, which suggests viewers are sticking around.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
