The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 helped drive viewership growth for Prime Video, a new report reveals. Created by Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne, the hit fantasy series returned for its sophomore outing in August, continuing its story of Sauron’s (Charlie Vickers) rise during the Second Age of Middle-earth. The Rings of Power‘s season 2 reviews have been mostly positive from critics and, though season 2 didn’t quite match season 1’s viewership, it has been a ratings success for Prime Video.

Nielsen’s new issue of The Gauge (via Deadline) reveals that Prime Video’s share of TV usage in September went up by 12% from August, the largest monthly growth of all the streaming services. The data reveals that Prime Video’s total percentage of viewership, which includes broadcast, cable, and streaming, stands at 3.6%. This puts it just behind Netflix’s 7.9% and YouTube’s 10.6%, but ahead of Disney+’s 2.5% and Hulu’s 2.4%.

This growth was driven by both The Rings of Power season 2 and Thursday Night Football. The Lord of the Rings show was the third most-watched streaming title in the month of September, raking in an impressive 4.3 billion minutes viewed, a figure clearly bolstered by the release of season 2. Check out Nielsen’s TV and streaming snapshot below:

Chart courtesy of Nielsen

What The Rings Of Power’s Viewership Means For The Show’s Future

Will The Lord Of The Rings Show Get A Season 3?

As of writing, The Rings of Power season 2 enjoys an 84% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 60% audience score, both of which are improvements over season 1. The sophomore outing has been praised for its storytelling momentum, its stunning depiction of Middle-earth, and for some key character journeys. Though the positive reception is a promising sign for the show, it’s viewership that will determine whether The Rings of Power season 3 gets the green light, which it hasn’t yet.

While the show may not have gotten an official renewal just yet, Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke recently suggested in an interview with Variety that McKay and Payne’s five-season plan for The Rings of Power is still a go. She stresses that viewership will have to remain high in order for the show to reach season 5, but that the response to season 2 means there’s “no debate” regarding whether season 3 will happen. The fact that The Rings of Power just helped Prime Video achieve a major growth milestone is just further proof that the show will continue.

Our Take On The Rings Of Power’s Viewership

The Future Looks Bright For The Prime Video Show

Even though season 2 hasn’t quite matched the viewership highs of The Rings of Power season 1, this isn’t entirely unexpected. There was a great deal of interest and a massive marketing campaign with the launch of the show in 2022, but it’s understandable that things have settled somewhat with season 2. Plus, as the above data reveals, the launch of the new season also bolstered viewership for season 1, and the cumulative watch data for both seasons is taken into account when determining whether the show has been a success or not.

While The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s viewership would be startlingly impressive for almost any other title, it’s really just the show’s immense cost that makes it more challenging to assess. It will reportedly cost Amazon about $1 billion to make all five seasons, after all. Clearly, however, the show is off to a strong start, and things are looking promising for its future.