Recently HBO did something unexpected – it licensed out its content to other streamers, with Netflix picking up several series including Issa Rae’s “Insecure,” Alan Ball’s “Six Feet Under,” and Dwayne Johnson’s sports agent comedy “Ballers”.
The latter’s premiere on the service appears to have succeeded in its purpose. Longtime TV analytics Twitter user TV Grim Reaper (via ComicBook.com) reports that in the week of August 14th through August 20th when it joined Netflix, the series was streamed for an alleged 696 million minutes total.
In comparison, in the week before on August 7th through August 13th on Max, their source claims the series pulled in just 1.7 million streaming minutes. They also allege that total viewing of “Ballers” on Max/HBO Max from May 30th 2022 to August 13th 2023 clocked in at around 892 million minutes.
These numbers haven’t been confirmed by any outside analytics agency or the streamers themselves so take them with a grain of salt. Even so, the recent major success of “Suits” on Netflix may be having a knock-on effect for other newly added old series content like this.
Set around Miami, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson stars in “Ballers” as a retired football superstar who is trying to find a foothold as a financial manager to current players as they navigate life off the field.
Rob Corddry, John David Washington, Omar Miller, Donovan W. Carter, Troy Garity, London Brown, Jazmyn Simon, and Arielle Kebbel co-star. All five seasons of “Ballers” are available now on both Netflix and Max.
Source: TV Grim Reaper (via ComicBook.com)
