'Vanderpump Rules' is finding a whole new audience thanks to #Scandoval, and Bravo's sister streamer Peacock is cashing in

• Peacock seized on the recent runaway success of "Vanderpump Rules" to reach new audiences.
• Data shows how the streamer's marketing and programming efforts to capitalize on the show's high-profile drama have played out.

When a cheating scandal rocked Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules" and the reality-TV world in March, Peacock didn't waste any time using the drama to bring in viewers.

The NBCUniversal streaming service, which houses much of sister network Bravo's programming, seized the moment to snatch up "VPR" fans by sharing catch-up guides to get viewers up to speed on the events leading up to the scandal.

Peacock signed on former "Vanderpump Rules" cast members Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright to film three "watch with" episodes exclusively for the streamer as the show's latest season continued to roll out. And, as the drama reached a crescendo during the three-part reunion that concluded this week, Peacock aired extended and uncensored versions that could only be found on its platform.

For the uninitiated, like I was two months ago: "Vanderpump Rules" follows a group of friends who came to know each through working in the West Hollywood restaurants of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum Lisa Vanderpump. Longtime cast member Ariana Madix discovered in March that Tom Sandoval, her partner of nine years, had been having an affair with one of her close friends, Raquel Leviss.

The affair, we've since realized, had been hidden in plain sight during the filming of the show's 1oth season but wasn't uncovered until shooting wrapped. Cameras picked back up to cover the aftermath, which was tacked onto the end of season 10.

While the drama pushed the Bravo show to new ratings heights, Peacock's strategy also gave the streamer a bump.

"Vanderpump Rules" went from the 57th most in-demand series on the streaming service in February, when season 10 premiered, to Peacock's ninth most in-demand series in March, according to Parrot Analytics.

By early June, it was the fifth most in-demand show on the streamer — and its average demand was in the top 0.2% of all TV series across all platforms.

The surge shows how Peacock — whose Instagram bio still reads: "Why are you reading this bio instead of watching Vanderpump Rules rn?" — has been cultivating a new swath of reality-TV fans, myself included.

While still reeling from recent episodes of "Vanderpump Rules," I've been served up episodes of other Bravo shows I haven't seen yet, including "Summer House" and "Southern Charm," by my Peacock app. With a heavy push from the algorithm and some cajoling from a friend, I've been pulled into "Below Deck." And "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" has been occupying prime placement on my Peacock home page, eager to offer me my next reality-TV fix.

Thanks in part to its Bravo catalog, Peacock is in one of the best positions to capitalize on its unscripted TV pile.

Recent Parrot Analytics data first published by TVREV shows Peacock had the second-largest US share of demand for unscripted TV programming during Q1, and ample supply.

It was second to only Discovery+, the new Warner Bros. Discovery streamer launched in May that combines HBO Max content, plus Warner Bros.' films, with much of the Discovery library. Demand for Discovery+'s unscripted content — from home design and food to "90 Day Fiancé" — well-outweighed demand for unscripted content from every other streamer Parrot looked at.

Other platforms including Netflix and Hulu have also been investing in reality TV.

The reality-TV audience could be a lucrative one, too. For example, going back to "Vanderpump Rules," higher-income households, particularly those with incomes ranging from $150,000 to $200,000, over-indexed by the highest margin compared to the rest of the US during the first two parts of season 10 reunion, Samba TV found.

These higher-income audiences could be more willing to spend on subscriptions.

While Peacock couldn't have predicted its "Vanderpump" bump, despite some fan theories that suggest Scandoval was staged, it came an opportune time amid the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike.

Peacock's reality-TV library could put the streamer in a position to thrive if the strike continues and causes more scripted production delays. Who knows, it even help make Peacock streaming's No. 1 guy.