Penske’s Luminate data division’s top streaming charts to start appearing in Variety

Variety parent Penske Media Group will begin publishing weekly viewership data for original content shown on major streaming platforms.

The listings will be sourced from Penske’s Luminate research business and cull data from AMC+, Prime Video, Discovery+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+ and Peacock.

Starting March 24, 2024, Variety will publish a pair of top 10 lists each week. One will list the top streamed movies and the other will showcase top TV shows or episodic content.

Data will initially only include U.S.-based subscriptions and viewing minutes, according to Luminate. 

Luminate’s new data model is being touted as superior to Nielsen’s, which has also been providing Variety and other publications and organizations with streaming viewership data. However, that data’s accuracy has been questioned and also takes a month to be compiled and publish.

Nielsen’s methodologies of relying on a mix of unverified data sources, including web searches, social media, BitTorrent and research panels. 

Luminate’s new listings have roots in Billboard’s iconic music charts. In 2020, Penske and MRC, which then owned Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter and other publications, formed a joint venture that took control of MRC’s existing data collection unit that was primarily used to generate Billboard charts.

The group spent two years developing the data science and methodology behind its new streaming viewership lists.

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