Riverdale Season 2 Ratings Surge Thanks To Netflix Streaming

With a number of new shows premiering, the biggest victory of the fall TV season may actually be the return of a series on The CW. After ending its first season with rather mediocre ratings, Riverdale returned on October 11 to quite a surprise--a much larger audience.

When it comes to live ratings, the new season of the series based on Archie Comics premiered to a 60% larger audience than the series debut did early in 2017. With 2.3 million live viewers, it fell just under The Flash--2.8 million viewers--when it comes to being the highest-rated show of the week on The CW. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the good news doesn't stop there. The show's live-plus-3 ratings--which include viewing via DVR up to three days later-- jumped to 3.3 million total viewers.

What prompted the major uptick in audience? There's a number of possibilities, whether it was episodes being available on The CW's app, reruns airing over the summer, or even the show having a strong presence at San Diego Comic-Con. That said, the answer to Riverdale's audience mystery should be obvious: Netflix.

Prior to last season, The CW signed a deal with Netflix. It would see next-day episodes of their shows removed from Hulu, but in return, entire seasons would be added to Netflix's streaming library one week after the season finale. And as THR reports, Riverdale was an extremely popular streaming choice over the summer, especially with younger audiences.

That should explain why the show's teen audience jumped 400% with the Season 2 premiere. It also explains how the premiere of the new season is already the CW app's most streamed episode ever.

Whether it can retain that audience is the next hurdle for Riverdale to face. In its second episode of the season, The Flash lost 10% of its live viewership with only 2.5 million viewers tuning in. Will Riverdale face the same fate or will it actually rally to a bigger audience?

Only time will tell. Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 PM on The CW.