The internet streaming service Netflix reached a significant number of UK Twitter and Facebook users yesterday after airing the first episode of the final season of Breaking Bad.
Breaking Bad is a hit series in the US that depicts a high school chemistry teacher who turns to a life of drugs and crime after being diagnosed with cancer.
UK fans will be able to watch the latest episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix a day after the episodes air in the US.
The right to broadcast Breaking Bad before it appears on television in the UK is regarded as a major coup for Netflix.
With the first episode of the final season airing on Netflix in the UK yesterday, we are able to measure the significant impact on social media.
Using YouGov’s social media analysis tool, SoMA, we can see that 29.4% of the UK Twitter population heard about Netflix yesterday, up from 24.8% the day before and 16% the day before that.
On Facebook there was also a noticeable increase in reach yesterday with 2.9% of UK users having been exposed to a mention of Netflix yesterday compared to 1.5% the day before.
By looking at the most popular words mentioned alongside Netflix, it is clear that the airing of the latest episode of Breaking Bad was primarily responsible for this increase in reach on both networks.
On Twitter the most popular words yesterday were, ‘bad’, ‘breaking’ and ‘netflixuk’. Meanwhile, on Facebook, the most popular words mentioned alongside Netflix were ‘breaking’, ‘bad’ and ‘new’.
Although the story reached a larger number of users on each of the networks, it is interesting to note the different demographic audiences that were exposed to a mention of Netflix on Twitter and Facebook.
On Twitter we can see that of those that heard about Netflix, 54% were male, 21% were from the North and 51% were aged 18-34. In comparison, of the Facebook audience exposed, we can see that 42% were male, 26% were from the North while 61% were aged 18-34.
Netflix’s ability to air Breaking Bad before it appears on UK television is clearly a major coup and our analysis demonstrates the immediate impact on Twitter and Facebook.
As the final series of Breaking Bad unravels in the coming weeks, we will be monitoring its impact on Netflix’s brand in the social sphere and amongst consumers generally.
‘Photo courtesy of Getty Images’
