1. Numbers don’t lie. Bluey ranked in the top 10 streaming programs in the United States by minutes viewed last year, according to audience insights and analytics firm Nielsen. It beat both Gilmore Girls and Seinfeld, and was streamed for more than 20 billion minutes on Disney+.
2. It’s clearly captured the hearts of millions of American children. The scale of Bluey’s success, according to media analyst Steve Allen, is on track to exceed that of Crocodile Dundee.
3. “Of course, it’s slightly different age groups, but it’s definitely in the sphere,” the director of strategy and research at Pearman Media says. “And I think over time will become more influential.”
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4. The combination of Tourism Australia’s 1984 Come and Say G’Day campaign, fronted by Paul Hogan, and the extraordinary box office success of Crocodile Dundee helped define Australia’s reputation on the international stage in the 1980s. Given Bluey’s success, the question now is whether it’s reshaping Australia’s international reputation — and if so, what does that mean for us?
Bluey’s backstory
5. The series follows a family of Blue Heelers living in suburban Brisbane, including dad Bandit (voiced by Dave McCormack), mum Chilli (Melanie Zanetti) and children Bluey and Bingo (whose voices are not credited). The ABC and BBC Studios co-commissioned the children’s show, with pre-production starting mid-2017.
6. It launched in Australia in 2018. The ABC has broadcast rights in Australia and the BBC has broadcast and commercial rights internationally. Bluey is now viewed in more than 60 countries, including the United States, the UK and China.
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7. There are 110 merchandising licensees internationally and more than 1,000 Bluey-themed toys and trinkets out there — including toothpaste. Four years in and Bluey’s audience continues to grow; the show is now the highest-rating program in the history of ABC Kids.
8. It has also carved out the position of most popular program ever across all broadcaster on-demand platforms in Australia. The latest Bluey episodes (released in June 2022) achieved a total audience — including broadcast and on-demand — of over 10.5 million. And it’s not just a show for kids. In 2022, Bluey was the top ABC program for the co-viewing demographic — that is, people over 18 viewing it with 0-17 year olds.
Phonetic Chart
