Netflix, back from the Tudum event in Sao Paulo that among other things saw the farewell to Henry Cavill’s The Witcher, has decided to review the formula it uses to classify the most watched films and shows on its streaming platform. You switch from total screen time to calculated views by dividing the overall watch time by the total lifetime of the product.
To better explain the change, Netflix used as an example Tyler Rake 2 (original name Extraction 2), the new film starring Chris Hemsworth that with its 88.38 million hours of viewing divided by 2.07 hours of duration is now classified according to 43 million so-called views. And it is a fact that taking into consideration the overall duration of series and films should guarantee a more accurate evaluation of the actual success of the film.
In addition to changing the rating system, Netflix has extended the rating time from 28 days to 91 days. In this way, the long-term success of a show or a film also becomes important, which has already led to some reversals. The first season of Wednesday, in fact, overtook Stranger Things 4 at the top of the ranking of the most watched English-language series.
“Our hope is that transparency in what users watch on Netflix will give everyone – consumers, creators, analysts and the press – a better understanding of what is most successful in streaming. We’ll continue to share more granular, title-specific data with creators, and as always, we’ll continue to listen to feedback.”
Unfortunately, the change does not allow us to understand how many people have seen movies and shows from beginning to end, also depriving any investors interested in the subscription with advertising of valuable information, but if nothing else it makes the classification more articulated and complete.
Meanwhile, to counteract the slowdown in the streaming market, Netflix has decided to limit account sharing to the household, a move criticized by many, especially considering the initial promises of the platform that in full boom of accounts has even shown itself enthusiastic about it, but that for the moment has brought the desired results.
