Netflix, for the primary time, printed detailed viewing figures about hundreds of its exhibits and flicks Tuesday, providing an unprecedented glimpse into the world-leading streaming platform’s high hits and highest-profile flops.
The report, which Netflix says will likely be repeated each six months, is a significant departure for a corporation that has traditionally guarded its knowledge carefully however got here below renewed stress to be extra clear throughout strikes this yr by Hollywood writers’ and actors’ unions.
“This is a big step forward for Netflix and our industry,” the corporate stated in a press launch.
“We believe the viewing information in this report … will give creators and our industry deeper insights into our audiences and what resonates with them.”
Since 2021, Netflix has launched weekly Top 10 lists and a frequently up to date “most popular” leaderboard based mostly on views inside a title’s first 91 days on the platform.
But the biannual new publication, entitled “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” goes additional.
A brand new spreadsheet comprises knowledge for all exhibits watched by Netflix customers for over 50,000 hours – that’s 18,000 titles in complete, representing 99% of all viewing on Netflix.
The knowledge solely covers the interval of January to June 2023, that means that movies and sequence launched throughout that point fared higher.
Topping the chart was season one in all “The Night Agent,” a U.S. action-thriller that debuted in March, drawing greater than 812 million hours watched globally.
Other high-profile Netflix titles performing nicely have been “Wednesday,” “You” and “Bridgerton” spin-off sequence “Queen Charlotte.”
Non-English language exhibits have been well-represented, producing 30% of all viewing, notably Korean and Spanish titles.
The lack of transparency amongst streaming platforms, together with Netflix, Apple and Prime Video, has lengthy been a bugbear of Hollywood brokers, journalists and the celebrities themselves.
But it got here into stark focus throughout this yr’s Hollywood strikes.
Striking actors and writers, beforehand accustomed to receiving beneficiant “residuals” every time their exhibits drew giant audiences on tv networks, this summer time demanded new mechanisms to reward them for hit exhibits on streaming equally.
Deals struck with these unions to finish the strikes did include bonuses for profitable exhibits however didn’t require streamers to launch any knowledge publicly.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos denied that the brand new initiative was triggered by talks with these guilds.
He stated Netflix, in its early years, “did not want to provide roadmaps to future competitors” by sharing worthwhile knowledge.
But that coverage had “created an atmosphere of mistrust over time,” and the corporate had change into extra clear as streaming turned extra mainstream.
“This has been on a continuum for several years. So this is not driven by anything differently than that,” he stated.
He added: “This is probably more information than you need. But I think it creates a better environment for the guilds, for us, for the producers, for creators, and the press.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
