Most viewed: Netflix to release audience figures in the UK to show popularity of its programmes

Although it has long been possible to know 13 million people tuned in for the finale of the BBC’s Line of Duty, or 31 million viewers watched England in the Euro 2020 final, the number of people who watch Squid Game has been a closely guarded secret.

- Jim Waterson

But now Netflix will finally reveal exactly how many people watch its programmes in the UK, giving an insight to the true cultural power of the streaming service and its impact on British viewing habits.

In a change of direction, the streaming service agreed to sign up as a full member of the British ratings agency the Broadcasters Audience Research Board Barb), meaning it will publish independently audited viewing figures that can be compared with traditional channels.

As a result, when the fifth series of The Crown is released next month, it will finally be possible to see whether the cultural coverage around Netflix’s royal show actually attracts more eyeballs than a less-hyped programme on a traditional TV channel.

Preliminary figures from September show Netflix is already used by two-thirds of the British television viewing public in a given month. It accounts for 8% of all television viewing in the UK, making it larger than Channel 4, Channel 5, and Sky but still far behind the BBC and ITV.