There were no new episodes of Game of Thrones in 2018, but by at least one metric, it remained the most popular show on TV anyway. Cable and broadband giant Comcast says HBOâs megahit was the No. 1 series on the companyâs Xfinity video-on-demand platform during 2018, attracting more on-demand viewers than any other program available on the service. This is the fourth year in a row that Thrones has captured the Comcast crown, but the first time the show has done so without the availability of new episodes. Itâs another sign of just how deep GOT fandom runs, and possibly a signal that some viewers are using the extended off-season to get up to speed before next yearâs final season premieres in April.
Xfinity on Demand data obviously doesnât carry the same weight as Nielsenâs broader audience sample, but it does offer some intriguing insights into the nonlinear viewing habits of the more than 22 million homes that get their video content via Comcast. Beyond the continued strength of Thrones, the biggest takeaway from this yearâs numbers is how poorly comedies performed. Last year, The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory finished in Xfinity on Demandâs top five, while five other sitcoms made the top 20. This year? Not a single half-hour comedy cracked the companyâs national year-end list. Instead, dramas dominated, with NBCâs This Is Us once again ending the year at No. 2, followed by Starzâs Power (up from No. 6 in 2017). Here are some other highlights of the Xfinity year-end data, both nationally and among some of the various regions of the country served by Comcast:
⢠The comedy exodus made room for a ton of drama programming that didnât make last yearâs chart. While Foxâs Empire failed to make the top 20 nationally for the first time since its 2015 debut, two of the networkâs newer hours â 9-1-1 (No. 4) and The Resident (No. 16) â both made the cut. ABCâs The Good Doctor (No. 5) also appears for the first time, having debuted too late in 2017 to earn a spot in the top 20. And in a sign of its continued overall ratings growth, Billions (No. 13) also landed on the Xfinity chart for the first time, joining Shameless (No. 6) and Homeland (No. 10) as the three Showtime series with slots in the top 20.
⢠Some cities had a bit more of a hunger for comedy than others. Even though no sitcoms made the Xfinity national top 20, Saturday Night Live did end up in the top 20 among subscribers in San Francisco and â no shock here, given its political parodies â Washington, D.C. Viewers in Portland, Denver, and Minneapolis also put The Simpsons on their respective top-20 list.
⢠Reality competition series historically donât do all that well in delayed viewing, whether via DVR or on-demand. But that seems to be changing: NBCâs The Voice (No. 14) and Americaâs Got Talent (No. 17) both finished in the top 20 this year. The Voice has taken a big hit in Nielsenâs linear ratings, so perhaps this is a sign that some audiences are simply watching the show in a different way now. As for other popular unscripted series, MTVâs Jersey Shore Family Vacation (No. 8) replaced Teen Mom 2 as the networkâs biggest on-demand show, while Lifetimeâs Married at First Sight (No. 15) broke on to the chart for the first time this year.
⢠Comcast subscribers really dug Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The family-friendly comedy was the No. 1 movie of the year among audiences who paid specifically to watch it when it first arrived on TV last spring, as well as for those who watched for âfreeâ once HBO added the film to its on-demand offerings this fall. Among the rest of the top movies purchased via on-demand in 2018, Black Panther finished No. 2, followed by Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, and The Greatest Showman.
⢠Whoâs the leader of the kidsâ shows made for VOD? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, of course. The Disney Junior series was the No. 1 kidsâ show on Xfinity, followed by SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, Sesame Street, and The Loud House.