‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Sees a 60% Drop in Viewership Compared to First Season According to Most Recent Reports

Season 2 of ‘The Rings of Power’ premiered last year and by the finale, we’ve seen Sauron turning into a character more recognizable to the general audience, and Galadriel turning into a more patient, more contemplative character. While the show was initially praised by critics and early reactions showed improvement when compared to the first season, the viewership of the latest season was always under question.

Some sources reported that viewership was abysmal, while some debunked it claiming that the show is even more successful than the first season. The second season did find itself on Nielsen Top 10 list, but keep in mind that the numbers were lower than the numbers that landed the show on the list in season 1.

Now Luminate reports a shocking number, that the second season of ‘Rings of Power’ had 60% less viewership than season 1. The statement was a part of their yearly report on streaming that outlined several issues that the industry will face in the coming years.

The report highlights how audiences are becoming fatigued with established franchises. There’s only so much interest in content from familiar IPs, like ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ especially if the series doesn’t offer fresh or engaging enough material. The show’s reliance on the established ‘Lord of the Rings’ universe may have been a factor in viewers not returning for season 2 as strongly as they did for season 1.

Newer shows and content, such as the highly popular ‘Fallout’ on also Prime Video, have been more appealing to viewers, which suggests that audiences may be drawn to fresh, exciting material rather than more of the same.

We don’t have the exact numbers at hand, but we can assume that whatever numbers the second season managed to pull in are disappointing taking into account how much money the studio already spent on it.

‘The Rings of Power’ has become one of the most expensive TV shows ever, with a budget of $465 million, or $58 million per episode. This surpasses the combined $281 million budget of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ film series. That is without factoring in the sum of money that was paid to the Tolkien estate for the rights.

The studio is also obligated to film at least 5 seasons of the show, according to their original deal.

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