The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power came back on the Nielsen streaming charts at the end of August after Season 2 premiered.
From August 26 to September 1, the series was watched for just over 1 billion minutes, with three new episodes released on August 29. This made it the second most-watched show on the list. Although Nielsen doesn’t separate shows by season, they reported that around 70% of the viewing time during this period came from the new episodes.

This is less than Season 1’s debut week, where the show reached over 1.2 billion minutes watched with just two episodes. In comparison, 11 episodes were available during this time. Those two episodes from Season 1 were released mid-week, giving it only four days to reach that number.
See More: ‘Rings of Power’ Viewership Suggests Amazon Maybe Shouldn’t Commit to Five Seasons
The new episodes of Season 2 were also available for four days. However, viewers could also watch the eight episodes from Season 1, giving the show an extra boost this time.
It’s important to mention that Prime Video started Season 2 with three new episodes instead of two. This gave the second season an advantage, as Nielsen’s system for tracking views tends to favor shows with more runtime.

The main thing to keep in mind is that Nielsen only tracks viewers in the U.S., so the global audience isn’t included. Amazon says about 70% of Rings of Power’s viewers are from outside the U.S. Still, this information shows the show is having trouble keeping its audience.
Rings of Power couldn’t surpass Prison Break, which stayed at the top with 1.2 billion minutes watched. AMC’s Dark Winds and A Discovery of Witches also did well again. This is a win for AMC, which licensed these shows and others to Netflix over the summer.
Check out more details below.

See More: Deadline