‘Yellowstone’ Season 5, Part 2 Scores Biggest International Premiere in Paramount+ History
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“Yellowstone” continues to be a hit for Paramount in the U.S. and abroad. Season 5’s return was the No. 1 premiere for any series internationally in Paramount+ history on its launch day, according to internal metrics from the streamer.
The series also saw a boost in live same day viewing as well as live plus three day viewing, scoring 21 million viewers in the United States, a 29% increase from its premiere night ratings alone. That makes Season 5, Part 2 the most-watched premiere in “Yellowstone” history.
Season 5 of “Yellowstone” was already off to a strong start. Last week’s Sunday night premiere saw 16.4 million viewers in total on its premiere night, according to VideoAmp. That marked a 3% increase in viewership compared to the first half of Season 5. This number accounted for the live viewership numbers for the premiere and encore showings across eight cable networks as well as CBS. Conversely, the premiere for the first half of Season 5 was available on seven cable networks.
The episode’s viewership was measured by VideoAmp rather than Nielsen due to ongoing negotiations between Paramount and Nielsen. Last week, Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao weighed in on the negotiations with Paramount Global, pushing back against the claim the company is seeking “substantial price increases.” Instead, Rao called Nielsen’s proposal to Paramount “eminently reasonable.” In the interim, Paramount has been using VideoAmp data for viewership measurements.
The second half of “Yellowstone” is currently available to stream on Paramount+ exclusively in the U.K., Latin America, France and Canada. It will also be available on Paramount+ in Germany, Switzerland and Austria next year. As for the United States, the show is currently only available to watch on Paramount Network.
“Yellowstone” hasn’t just proven to be a global ratings hit for Paramount. The success of the Western drama has extended into merchandising. “Yellowstone” consumer products are sold across the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North Africa and Asia. The series has collaborated with big brands across the world, such as Tesco and Vanilla Underground in the United Kingdom as well as Walmart and Amazon in Canada. The series even has a frozen food line from FoodStory Brands, and Versalicensing — Mexico’s leading cowboy hat company — reported a staggering 1,000% increase in sales of Yellowstone-branded hats.
So far, only two episodes have premiered in the second half of “Yellowstone” Season 5, so there’s reason to believe this excitement and these ratings highs are only going to continue. Altogether, there will be six episodes in this second half, which is set to conclude on Dec. 15.
“Yellowstone” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Paramount Network.
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