Reporting standards

Measurement Methodology

Last updated: September 21, 2026 · Applies to every live figure on this site

This page explains how we collect, calculate and report the audience numbers on this site. We pull them from each platform's official API on a set schedule and show them as received. The one exception is TikTok lifetime views, explained under Lifetime views below.

Data sources

Every live figure is drawn from one of three official platform APIs, read from the show’s own account:

  • TikTok: the TikTok Display API.1,2
  • Instagram: the Instagram Graph API, read from the show’s professional account.3,4
  • YouTube: the YouTube Data API v3.5

We store the API responses on a schedule, and the site shows that stored copy. Nothing is scraped, estimated, modeled or taken from a third-party analytics tool.

Metric definitions

Followers

The sum of TikTok followers, Instagram followers and YouTube subscribers for that show’s accounts only. The per-platform breakdown is published beneath the total.1,4,5

Views, last 90 days

Views on all content published in the trailing 90 days, counted per platform and summed. The window advances daily, so this figure can decrease as well as increase.2,3

Lifetime views

All views on everything a show has published. Likes, shares, comments and impressions aren't included. TikTok's API doesn't give an account-level lifetime total,1,2 so we copy the TikTok number from TikTok Studio and update it periodically. It's the only number on this site entered by hand.

Average engagement rate

Engagements divided by views, worked out per platform and then combined. We show a rate instead of a raw count, because a raw count next to a big view total doesn't tell you much.

Paid and partner distribution

Fallen Media and its brand partners promote some episodes with each platform's own ad tools. When a platform counts those promoted views on the original post, they're in the public view count, and we include them the same way the platform reports them:

  • TikTok: views from Spark Ads are attributed to the original organic post.6
  • YouTube: the public view count is the sum of organic views and qualifying ad views.7,8
  • Instagram: the Graph API reports organic activity only, so views from promoted posts are not included.3

We don't count views from off-platform media, ad-only uploads or third-party traffic services. For campaign reports, we can split out organic and paid on request.

Figures in progress

Instagram doesn't publish a lifetime view total, so we add ours up post by post.3 For big catalogs this runs in the background. Until it's done, the line reads "counting" and the total has a plus sign, meaning it's a minimum. A dash means the platform isn't connected for that show.

Data currency

The timestamp under the numbers shows when we last pulled data from the platforms, not when you loaded the page. Instagram insights can lag up to 48 hours.4 Numbers for a specific date are available on request.

Verification

  • Each platform line links to the account it was read from. Follower and subscriber counts are public and can be checked directly.
  • For a campaign or partnership, we will provide exports or screen recordings from TikTok Analytics, Meta Business Suite and YouTube Studio for any requested date range.
  • Third-party verification or brand-lift partners may be granted direct access in place of screenshots.
  • YouTube rounds public subscriber counts above 1,000 to three significant figures, and our figures inherit that rounding.5

Exclusions

  • No followers, views or engagement purchased from third-party services. Paid distribution is limited to the platforms’ own advertising products, as set out under Paid and partner distribution above.
  • No modeled or projected reach presented as actual results.
  • No selective date ranges. Every show is reported on the same 90-day window.
  • No view counted twice, across platforms or across shows.

Sources

  1. TikTok for Developers, Get User Info
  2. TikTok for Developers, List Videos
  3. Meta for Developers, Instagram Media Insights
  4. Meta for Developers, Instagram Platform Insights
  5. Google for Developers, YouTube Data API: Channels
  6. TikTok Ads Manager Help, About Spark Ads
  7. Google Ads Help, About YouTube ads and view metrics
  8. YouTube Help, How engagement metrics are counted

Where this page differs from a platform’s own definition, the platform’s definition governs. Let us know and we’ll correct this page.

Contact

Questions about these figures may be sent to hello@fallenmedia.com.