By Angela Palumbo

Love Island USA, the dating competition show that began in 2019, is shaping up to be this summer's big hit, while offering a new way for streaming firms to think about content.

The Love Island phone app, which allows viewers to vote on the show's contestants, is currently the No. 2 most downloaded program on Apple's App Store, behind ChatGPT.

Season seven of the reality show premiered on June 3. New episodes come out six nights a week on Comcast's Peacock streaming service.

The show has become a rare daily hook in the world of streaming, and the kind of appointment viewing that has largely been lost in a post-linear TV world. Peacock is currently No. 4 on Apple's App Store list of free downloads. Netflix, by comparison, is No. 9.

Now in its seventh season, Love Island USA features a group of single people in a Fiji villa over about eight weeks. Their goal is to couple up with another contestant, and remain a couple until the season ends. The show includes occasional competitions, as well. On a recent episode, islanders had to raise the heart rate of fellow contestants by any means necessary.

The final remaining couples have the chance to win $100,000, with winners decided by viewers voting for their favorite pair. Viewers can also vote for things they'd like to see happen on the island, including new couplings of contestants.

The season seven finale is expected to air July 13.

Reality TV is nothing new, but Love Island has taken the country by storm this summer. The Love Island USA account on TikTok gained one million followers in June, according to social media data collection website Social Blade, up from the 184,200 followers that the account gained when the previous season premiered in June 2024. Love Island USA's YouTube channel gained 40,000 subscribers this June, rising from last year's 5,000 subscriber increase.

Comcast took a risk in 2022 when it pulled Love Island from CBS, forcing viewers to watch via Peacock.

"Since bringing Love Island to Peacock four years ago, we've built the brand into a signature summer destination -- one that dominates social conversation and pop culture," Bravo & Peacock Unscripted Chairman Frances Berwick said in a statement to Barron's.

Comcast, which was a 2025 Barron's stock pick , said that Peacock revenue increased 16% in the first quarter ended March 31, to $1.2 billion. Comcast's total revenue in the first quarter was $29.9 billion, a 0.6% decline from the previous year.

The next financial data points on Peacock are likely to arrive when Comcast reports second-quarter earnings on July 31.

Shares of Comcast are down 4.9% this year, versus a gain of 50% for Netflix.

" Love Island and the profits that can come from it are a drop in the bucket at Comcast," Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino told Barron's. But, "the transition from linear to streaming makes Peacock more important to Comcast every year."

Research firm Nielsen recently reported that streaming usage overtook the combined share of broadcast and cable for the first time ever in May. YouTube was the most commonly used platform in May, representing 12.5% of streaming viewing. Netflix was the leader among scripted content makers, with 7.5%. Peacock was the last of the nine individually counted streamers, with 1.4% of viewership.

Supino believes that because of the success that Love Island USA has had in a time where streaming is taking market share from traditional TV, Peacock "will most certainly expand on the franchise, and flog it until it dies." Essentially, expect more programs from the Love Island franchise, or other appointment viewing style reality shows like it, in the months to come.

Daniel Green, the director of the Master of Entertainment Industry Management Program at Carnegie Mellon University, says that other streamers are likely to copy the Love Island playbook.

"It all comes down to eyeballs," Green says. "I definitely think there will be [more streamers] in the future that will look at the success of this and build on it."

Green says the show is likely benefiting from a viewership looking for distractions from ongoing local and geopolitical tensions.

"I think escapism is a big aspect of it," Green says, adding that "finding a show that's fun, that moves well, that doesn't take itself too seriously, I think is probably a positive at this particular point."

Green adds that Love Island has brought back "appointment viewing." Love Island USA's six night a week schedule -- every night but Wednesday -- the participation of the audience through voting, and its social media popularity encourages viewers to sit down and stream the show in real-time to avoid spoilers -- and to be a part of the conversation. That's a unique experience in the time of streaming and is helping the show stand out, Green says.

Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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July 01, 2025 02:30 ET (06:30 GMT)

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