If you’ve already binge-watched all thirteen episodes of House of Cards, you are not alone. As it turns out, over 670,000 people binge-watched the new season in its entirety during the first weekend of its release on Netflix. That’s a whopping 2% of total Netflix subscribers devoting a lot of hours to watching the series over the weekend.
In what could be described as a great time suck during inclement weather, all 13 episodes of Season 2 of House of Cards became available for users of the subscription streaming service on February 14. Since Netflix typically doesn’t disclose viewership of its programming—especially its original programming—you might be wondering how we came across the numbers listed above. Just a few days ago, Procera Networks published a report taking a look at viewership of the series in the U.S. and European markets. While 2% literally binge-watched the series during its first weekend, another significant chunk of viewers caught at least one episode of the show, with somewhere between 5 and 15% tuning in to check out an episode or four.
Honestly, those statistics may not seem super impressive, but when you track those numbers into total viewers, they make a lot more sense. According to the report, 2% is a 4X increase over the initial number of Season 1 viewers, which is pretty huge. Additionally, like premium subscription cable networks, there’s plenty of opportunity for viewers to check in to the series in the weeks to come, making House of Cards a pretty successful endeavor for the streaming service. Additionally, binge-watching entails tuning in for all 13 hours of the new season, which is really quite a lot of television for only one or two sittings.
House of Cards stars Kevin Spacey as politician Frank Underwood, a man who uses his manipulation prowess to work his way up the political food chain, eventually landing himself as the Vice President of the United States. In Season 2, Frank spends a lot of time dealing with the various machinations of becoming Vice President, while his wife, Claire (Robin Wright), deals with some scandal of her own. Additionally, a ton of side plotlines intertwine with our two leads, including the brand new House Whip, Jackie Sharp, played by Deadwood actress Molly Parker.
The popular show was already greenlighted for a third season ahead of its Season 2 premiere, so there’s no need to worry about the show ending without warning. You can dive in without fear of cancellation, which is more than audiences can say for a slew of shows. The news follows the streaming service’s recent announcement that its first original series, Lilyhammer, will also be nabbing a third season on Netflix. If you for some reason are a House of Cards fan but don’t subscribe to Netflix, keep your eyes peeled for Blu-ray and DVD news in the coming months.
