“The rings of power” have been delivered.
With the end of the season of “The Rings of Power” and “The House of the Dragon” it is safe to say that the fantasy season has concluded for 2022. For Prime Video “The Rings of Power” is perhaps the biggest bet in its history . They acquired the rights in 2017 with the commitment to make at least five seasons and with an estimated budget of at least one billion dollars. How successful has it been? Was it worth the investment?
Prime Video announced that the series was watched by 25 million people in its first 24 hours considering its global subscribers. That is, the first two episodes. Another report, that of Samba TV, which monitors some Smart TV services, indicated 1.8 million and 1.3 for episode three, that is, a week later, denoting a decrease in interest. Nielsen figures marked 12.6 million in the US for the first four days. The numbers denote the different standards and metrics depending on who measures, an issue that has not gone unnoticed in general when talking about streaming services and even broadcast television. Everyone can accommodate as best suits them.
From the data, that of Samba TV is revealing. It shows that people weren’t so captivated as to come back. The series was competing against HBO Max’s “The House of the Dragon” that came from the success of “Game of Thrones”, even though the ending was controversial and not to everyone’s liking. There were also “She-Hulk: Lawyer of Heroes” and “Andor” on Disney + that, although they are properly other genres, competed in a certain way for attention. Still, at the end of the season, Prime Video reported 100 million consumers who watched it from a group where 71% had 35% or more.
Now, knowing today if a series is successful for a streaming service involves several metrics. One is the number of views and within that how they are measured (per full chapter, per beginning chapter, per full series viewed). Another has to do with how many new viewers it captured. One more with whether the content prevented subscribers from being lost.
“Rings of Power” was in the conversation and largely stuck. Much of it had to do with the sheer promotional power that Prime Video has. It was inevitable not to have her present when she was in billboards, social networks and even Amazon packaging. It was part of the agenda. It was in controversy because of how attached or not it is to the original, of the licenses that were taken especially by having elves that no longer obey the standard and the rhythm of the series.
For critics, on the meta site Rotten Tomatoes it has 85% with a consensus that “it may not be the series that rules them all, but it enchants with its opulence and presentation of Middle-earth”; the public was much less condescending and gave him 30%. In Metacrtitic it has a 71. In IMDB a 6.9.
In the end, the movement that a series has socially speaking is part of the success, but it is not useful if it does not land in more views, more subscriptions, more loyalty or less attrition. If there is no conversion it does not work. It is the hard data. The second season is already in production so it’s safe to say that it may not have been the overwhelming success that was expected (how many will dress up as their characters on Halloween?), but it’s not a failure either. The ring looks like it fit. The power is not in him yet.