Why we should be skeptical of HBO boasting that Euphoria is a streaming hit

The Ringer

About 577,000 watched Sunday's premiere on HBO. But without releasing streaming numbers, HBO said Euphoria drew the largest premiere audience for a scripted regular series on HBO Now since Westworld, according to Deadline. As Alison Herman points out, HBO is joining a trend of streaming services boasting about their success without releasing verifiable numbers. "It’s a statement that sounds clear on its face but disintegrates, Monet-like, the closer you look—evasiveness masquerading as disclosure," says Herman. "This strategy is hardly unique to HBO. In fact, it’s a sign that the opacity of the streaming era is now trickling down to more conventional providers, and will only grow more entrenched as conglomerates like Disney, NBCUniversal, and HBO’s corporate overseer WarnerMedia unveil their own services. All streaming services, including Hulu and Amazon Prime, keep the details of their audience share a closely guarded secret, preferring to let the Emmys do the talking. But it’s Netflix, ever the industry leader, that’s most publicly tried to have its cake and eat it too, bragging about its successes without releasing any data to verify them."