Netflix likely won’t release viewership numbers for the second season of “Stranger Things” but if social media activity surrounding the show is any indication, the streaming company has a monster hit on its hands.
Jefferies analyst John Janedis said that social media buzz heading into last week’s premiere of Stranger Things set a higher standard than previous Netflix shows.
“There was a significant amount of social media activity leading up to the premiere of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 (multiples more than season 1), especially relative to the second seasons of other hit NFLX originals,” wrote Janedis.
Janedis said that in the two days prior to the second season of “Stranger Things” premiering on Oct. 27, there were around 115,000 mentions on Twitter related to the series. He said that the second season of “Narcos” only generated around 30,000 mentions in the two days prior to season two launching in September 2016.
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With “Stranger Things,” Netflix not only has a massive programming hit but also a significant merchandising opportunity. When Netflix CEO Reed Hastings threw on a light-up “Stranger Things” sweater during his company’s earnings call earlier this month, he called attention to a deal Netflix has in place with Target.
“We've all got our ‘Stranger Things’ sweaters on because we're celebrating both the amazing content that's coming in 10 days or so, and also Target’s a great promotional strategy, we’re learning how to do merchandising, we've got some amazing displays and amazing materials out at Target,” said Hastings, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.
Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, also added that “Stranger Things” is an “enormous hit” with both Netflix’s domestic and international subscribers.
In Netflix’s most recent quarter, the company added 4.45 million international subscribers during the third quarter and 850,000 new domestic subscribers, for 5.3 million total new subscribers.