10 TV Streaming Searches from the Golden Globes 2021

TV streaming played a leading role in this year’s Golden Globes. TV streaming services were major winners in the show itself, with Netflix’s The Crown, Hulu’s Nomadland, and Amazon Prime’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm all claiming awards. It was also the first time when the Golden Globes nominees streamed their way into the show.

That got us thinking: what effect did a title or performance award nomination have on Roku users’ search behavior? To find out, we compared search volume for some of the event’s big winners in the week before and after the show. We learned that several winners came away with more than just an elegant trophy. They also piqued the interest of Roku users everywhere.

Here’s what we found:

1. Billie Holiday, Borat, Other Winners Saw Spikes in Streaming Searches 

• The United States vs Billie Holiday performed the best of all titles, with a +894% WoW increase in searches
• Searches for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm rose by 211% week-over-week when the film won “Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy”
• Nomadland, which won “Best Motion Picture, Drama,” saw searches grow by 59% week-over-week
• Searches for The Crown, which won “Best Series, Drama,” rose by 91% week-over-week

Interestingly, some titles didn’t have to win to see a significant increase in streamer interest: searches for Promising Young Woman, which was nominated for four categories but didn’t take home any hardware, rose by 96% week-over-week.

2. Chloé Zhao, Andra Day Topped Searches for Actors and Directors  

• Searches for Chloé Zhao, winner of “Best Director, Motion Picture,” rose by 1200% week-over-week
• Searches for Andra Day, who won “Best Performance by an Actress in Motion Picture, Drama,” rose by 547% week-over-week
• Searches for Rosamund Pike, who won “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy,” rose by 312%
• Searches for Jodie Foster, who won “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture,” rose by 202% week-over-week
• Searches for Jason Sudeikis, who won “Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy,”rose by 110% week-over-week

3. Titles Helped Drive More Streamers to Winning Channels. 

The biggest win for streaming channels, aside from the Golden Globes they took home, was the new streamers that watched their channels. We saw an average new audience increase of 25% for channels that featured winning titles and performers.

Making great TV shows is good business for streaming. Our data shows that awards shows can help create a new spike in interest for channels that have that content, leading to new trials and, potentially, new subscriptions.

The Streamer Journey: Discovery & Decisions  

The key takeaway:  entertainment markers need to be timely when it comes to promoting content. Tentpole moments can change search trends in a single day, and audience interest can shift with it. With Roku’s full suite of creative options, you can create a dynamic experience for streamers that keeps them engaged – and shows them more of the content they love.

Want to learn more about what your audience is streaming and searching for? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us to get started.