discovery+, Hulu Rank Atop List of Services with Most In-Demand Reality Series

Discovery+ and Hulu were found to have the most demanded reality content across streaming services, according to a new study.

Parrot Analytics recently studied the viewing habits of individuals who love reality TV and found a number of interesting trends. For starters, it looks like competition is king, as four of the five most popular reality TV properties were competition shows. “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “American Idol,” “The Voice,” and “America’s Got Talent” were joined by only “Impractical Jokers” as the top five most in-demand reality series. Four of the top five — and six of the top ten — shows were competition-based shows, with “Survivor” clocking in at No. 6. You can see the full Top 10 below:

Interestingly, only one “romance-themed” series, “90 Day Fiance,” cracked the top 10, which Parrot calls a trend.

“The share of demand for romance reality has been shrinking over the past two years as other types of reality content like property reality become more popular.”

Ironic, because “90 Day” is a Discovery property, and its streaming service, dwarfs other streamers in terms of demand for reality content.

Discovery+ claimed 34.8% of the market for reality content on streaming services, surpassing Hulu (21.6%), Peacock (13.5%), and Paramount+ (9.1%), the latter of which owns the rights to the “Drag Race” franchise. Despite the money that the platform has started spending on reality programming, Netflix was far behind its competitors with only an 8% market share. It’s not all rainclouds for Netflix, however, as demand for its reality content has increased over the past few years.

While the total demand for reality content in the US has grown by 24% since January 2020, demand for Netflix original reality series has grown by over 50% during the same time as the streamer has invested in developing its original offerings in this genre. Netflix original realities like Love is Blind, Indian Matchmaking, and The Circle all premiered in 2020 and have new seasons coming this year.

“Love is Blind” is an interesting example of Netflix embracing the spinoff potential of the reality genre. Netflix’s global footprint lets it unlock the full value of a franchise with spinoffs like “Love is Blind: Japan” and “Love is Blind: Brazil” tailored to local audiences around the world.

Let’s be honest — it’s clear that the top two services for reality content are there for a reason. discovery+ features over 400 shows on the platform — most of them unscripted/reality programs — and their content offerings range across a wide variety of interests. Whether you love cooking, sharks, cars, dogs, baking, mining, true crime, ghosts, or, well, love — discovery+ has a show for you.

Likewise, Hulu is home to the Bravo shows, including the “Real Housewives” franchise, “Vanderpump Rules,” and “Top Chef.” Hulu is also home to all things Kardashian — both the former E! series “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” as well as the new streaming exclusive “The Kardashians.” You can also watch past seasons of “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “The Bachelor in Paradise,” “The Bachelor on Mars,” and “The Bachelor/Bachelorette in any Other Sort of Capacity You Can Dream Up.

That being said, it would be wise for the two current top dogs to rest on their laurels. It’s clear that Netflix is investing heavily into unscripted content and Paramount+ owns the rights to the most demanded reality property. The two current leaders in the clubhouse could be looking up from below in no time at all.