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Who's binge-ing what: Exclusive Comcast data reveals top VOD picks by city

Gary Levin   | Paste BN

Did you miss a new-series premiere but wanted to catch up on demand?

Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider and among the most aggressive video on demand promoters, says plenty of viewers did, and provided Paste BN with top-ranked new and returning series for each of 11 major geographic areas it serves, from Miami to Seattle and Boston to San Francisco. 

Overall, the pilot episodes of NBC's This is Us, ABC's Designated Survivor and HBO's Westworld ranked as the most heavily viewed on demand. And Fox's Empire, FX's American Horror Story and CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory had the biggest catch-up viewing among returning shows.

This is Us, a family drama told in separate time frames, was the top premiere in each of the 11 cities except San Francisco, where Westworld ruled. FX comedy Atlanta scored highest in its hometown (ranking third among new fall premieres), and ranked in the top 5 of other Southern markets including Houston and Miami. CBS drama Bull, the most-watched new series,ranked in the top 5 only in Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, while MacGyver's premiere only ranked highly in Seattle.

Comcast's upgraded X1 system, available in 9 million homes, about 45% of its total subscriber base, watched an average of 24 hours a month on demand this year, up from nearly 18 two years ago, the company said, with most of the growth coming from premium cable channels such as HBO and free movies. HBO's Game of Thrones continues to rank in its top 10 for catch-up viewing even though the most recent season ended in June. 

But VOD is "predominantly about discovery," says Steve Meyer, Comcast's VP of video strategy, while dedicated fans more often set their favorites to record on DVRs, allowing them to skip commercials. To date, VOD has been most popular for "heavily serialized, post-apocalyptic dramas" such as Thrones or AMC's The Walking Dead. In the new TV season, "maybe there's a show that's getting positive word of mouth or buzz and you probably didn't know about it, but now you can get into it."

The abundance of comedies among on-demand hits reflects interest in a "steady binge with low commitment" in a genre where "there's not this pull to see the latest episode," Meyer says, and is essentially replacing viewership of syndicated reruns on local stations or cable. 

Top VOD series

New

  1. This is Us (NBC)
  2. Designated Survivor (ABC)
  3. Westworld (HBO)
  4. Lethal Weapon (Fox)
  5. The Good Place (NBC)

Returning

  1. Empire (Fox)
  2. American Horror Story (FX)
  3. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
  4. Shameless (Showtime)
  5. Modern Family (ABC)

Most on-demand views of premiere episodes of new and returning series between Sept. 19 and Oct. 31 in all homes served by Comcast's XFinity On Demand service. Source: Comcast

Top new VOD series by market

Atlanta

  1. This is Us
  2. Designated Survivor
  3. Atlanta
  4. Westworld
  5. Lethal Weapon

Boston

  1. This is Us
  2. Designated Survivor
  3. Westworld
  4. The Good Place 
  5. Bull

Chicago

  1. This is Us
  2. Designated Survivor
  3. Westworld
  4. Lethal Weapon
  5. The Good Place

Denver

  1. This is Us
  2. Westworld
  3. Designated Survivor
  4. The Good Place
  5. Timeless

Houston

  1. This is Us
  2. Westworld
  3. Designated Survivor
  4. Lethal Weapon
  5. Atlanta

Miami

  1. This is Us
  2. Designated Survivor
  3. Westworld
  4. Lethal Weapon
  5. Atlanta

Philadelphia

  1. This is Us
  2. Designated Survivor
  3. Westworld
  4. Lethal Weapon
  5. Bull

Pittsburgh

  1. This is Us
  2. Designated Survivor
  3. Westworld
  4. Bull
  5. The Good Place

San Francisco

  1. Westworld
  2. This is Us
  3. Designated Survivor
  4. The Good Place
  5. Lethal Weapon

Seattle

  1. This is Us
  2. Westworld
  3. Designated Survivor
  4. The Good Place
  5. MacGyver

Washington

  1. This is Us
  2. Westworld
  3. Designated Survivor
  4. Atlanta
  5. Lethal Weapon
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