Netflix ramblings

[frelling_tralk]

Netflix's Latest Numbers Show It Has One Demographic in Mind


I’ve definitely been starting to get the feeling lately that Netflix are becoming a more traditional network with chasing youth. Clearly they want the younger viewers who have more time on their hands to binge watch in a weekend and make something part of pop culture immediately, as opposed to say Marvel shows where adults might have more on and not have the time to watch all 13 episodes in a single weekend. Reportedly that was an issue with Netflix when it come to the length of Marvel shows in fact, that they wanted them cut down from 13 episodes to 10 episodes, so clearly they are starting to really value how fast shows are getting watched

Suddenly caring so much about the initial ratings feels a little like a betrayal of Netflix’s original intention to me though? I always understood it to be set up to provide as much content as possible in order to keep subscribers interested, and then first weeks viewing figures or the youth demo doesn’t really matter, we are free to watch in our own time. Only now they seem to be returning more to how the original networks did it when they boast about how many viewers watched certain shows in the opening week, and I feel a little bit concerned about how that might affect content that is aimed at older people :( I always hated that system in America where older viewers and overall viewers don’t count at all, it’s only the youth demo that counts, and it feels like things are going backwards if Netflix do start chasing the youth vote at the expense of other shows. Especially when Netflix don’t even have advertisers to worry about, so one age group really shouldn’t be valued any more than another

And side note, but it is INCREDIBLY annoying when I sort my Netflix watch lost in the order I want to watch next, and then the damn thing keeps rearranging itself next time I open the app, does anyone know of any way to prevent this?



Also LiveJournal send something about a #10yearschallenge to my inbox, anyone else get this? (ETA Well just browsed through the tag, and it seems to be exclusively all Russian users other than me!) Apparently ten years ago I was watching season 3 of Supernatural for the first time

https://frelling-tralk.livejournal.com/658904.html

https://frelling-tralk.livejournal.com/659270.html

https://frelling-tralk.livejournal.com/659990.html


I never really go back and read old entries any more, it’s strange to read some of those entries and comments and remember that that was all ten years ago now. And a little sad to see some old faces commenting that I have completely lost touch with since...

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

What I'd like from Netflix is a list of ALL the content, rather than (or at least in addition to) a gazillion rec lists.

I got the 10-year email too.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Oh that would be helpful as well! It seems like they are very selective about what they choose to recommend to you, like for example when you go to recently added content it might have shows there that have already been available for a year or more?! Also the shows they tell you that they think that you might be interested in because of something else that you’ve watched, half the time they have nothing in common with one another that I can see?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

Maybe they use an "other people have watched both" algorithm, but I agree it often doesn't make sense.

In the same vein, Amazon often recommends me books I've already bought on their website.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Oh Amazon always makes me laugh when you buy idk say a DVD player from them, and then they’ll spend months after that still recommending different ones to you. Once you’ve actually brought a product from them, you’d think they would be able to detect that that there’s not much point to keep recommending more to you, but they don’t seem to know how to differentiate if someone is still browsing

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, this! Just give me an alphabetical list of shows to choose from, it would be so much faster than the search or lists they have.

[valeria-sg-1.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I read your post about the challenge because I went back and saw that 10 years ago I was totally fangirling over Roslin and BSG (which I'd just started watching properly)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It’s funny to go back and see what you were talking about back then isn’t it :) It really doesn’t feel like ten years ago in some ways, and then in other ways it really does feel like ten years (or longer even!) when you think about well yeah actually how long have I been aware of a particular show

[bm-shipper.livejournal.com]

It's a bit sad how Netflix seems to change everything at the moment and how they seem to rely on people that DO watch shows with like 20 episodes in a weekend. (Yes, I know people who do that...)
I read somewhere they ALSO wanna keep people from sharing an account. Like a friend of mine does that with her whole family, but I read that's something they wanna "fix" too, so you can't do that anymore... I'm almost glad that I don't really count with what I watch anyway as I barely watch any Netflix shows and end up buying the shows I love on DVD or Blue-Ray anyway, so there's that...

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yeah that’s definitely the feeling I get, but personally I don’t know know why they would value those kind of consumers over others because really it’s going to be a lot harder to create enough content for people who have time to binge watch an entire series every single week, as opposed to someone taking their time and watching episodes when they can. It seems more likely that slower watchers would be the customers to stick around, while those who do rush through everything really fast might just subscribe for a month and catch up with everything as fast as they can

And I tend to prefer Blu-Rays as well, but unfortunately their popularity seems to be dying a bit in comparison to digital media. I’ve noticed that a lot of shows these days make very little effort with commentaries and special features sadly in comparison to how it used to be, it seems like it’s generally expected that most people with now just buy their preferred shows on iTunes instead

[eowyn.livejournal.com]

Netflix's algorithm of recommendations is so broken. And then their search feature to find something outside of that is so hard to use, too - they REALLY want you to watch their recs, and not much else.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I’ve definitely noticed that, they seem to love pushing their own original movies and shows to me especially over everything else

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

Oh jeez, it really is a huge mess :/

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I do hate seeing my list rearranged every time I reopen the app :sighs:

[malicat.livejournal.com]

Especially when Netflix don’t even have advertisers to worry about, so one age group really shouldn’t be valued any more than another

This! I mean,on regular networks I can at least somewhat understand the thought process as younger people are presumably influenced by ads easier or something? It's still a dumb system but on Netflix they don't even have the ads lmao

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

And also it’s far more likely that teenagers are watching with a shared family account, so if anything I would think they would want to cater to us oldies more, we’re the ones with the most disposable income after all!

[yourlibrarian]

True, but I think they're banking on the future. They want to hook them now while it's still free to them so that they'll pay for their own accounts in the future.

They've been pretty clear that they're less concerned about other streaming services than video games and YouTube.

[silverusagi]

Only now they seem to be returning more to how the original networks did it when they boast about how many viewers watched certain shows in the opening week

Yeah. I thought with streaming services, we were finally moving AWAY from this model. Guess not.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It did seem that way for a while, so I definitely think it’s a worrying sign that Netflix suddenly care so much about immediate viewing figures now, especially when it’s clearly shows aimed at the ~younger demo~ that get the biggest early rush of bingewatches

[violateraindrop]

Iron Fist really benefitted from having a shorter season, but that doesn't mean all shows should be shorter. I rarely sit down and watch a season within a weekend even though I could do it. I kinda thought their audience was 19+, more like college students who don't want to spend money on expensive cable packages and spend a weekend binging a show (instead of alcohol I guess lol).

However, I have also noticed that it does seem like they are going backward. They suddenly started canceling shows (not just Marvel ones) and now they want to add ads?
It also seemed weird when they suddenly announced how many people watched Bird Box when that was something they never disclosed before.
A lot of people use it to watch (or binge) network shows, like Brooklyn Nine-Nine or even Supernatural, but Netflix now seems to concentrate on its original content. Just like a network would...

I got one of those e-mails. At that time I didn't use LJ as much as a private journal though, so it was just an entry with icon textures :D

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Iron Fist really benefitted from having a shorter season, but that doesn't mean all shows should be shorter. I rarely sit down and watch a season within a weekend even though I could do it

I agree, they do seem to have decided on ten episodes as the perfect season length lately, but there are plenty of shows that really benefit from 13 episodes or more. I generally don’t watch an entire season in a weekend anyway, especially if it’s a new show that I’m trying out for the first time, a couple of episodes per night is my preference, so while there are all these jokes about Netflix being the originator of binge watching etc, still it feels a bit odd if Netflix are now deciding that that’s the only right way to watch. A lot of people like to take their time with a show, that shouldn’t matter when Netflix don’t have advertisers to impress with opening night ratings

And Netflix cancelling so many shows this past year is definitely a worrying sign, it used to be that you could rely on Netflix to not leave shows on a cliffhanger, but it seems like that’s no longer something to rely on. And the problem is that when a Netflix show gets cancelled, it’s a lot harder to campaign and find another network willing to air it, because well that always used to be Netflix that you could turn too there :/ And Daredevil has already illustrated that they make it so that it’s not that easy for other streaming sites to pick up their shows, so fans of Netflix shows that get dumped are then really left with no other pick up options

[giallarhorn.livejournal.com]

I think the article makes a really good point with-

Is Netflix as dependent on Gen Z as Gen Z is on Netflix?

Which I think is the former than the latter, but I think realization by Netflix themselves in how dependent they are on that demographic to stay relevant is definitely starting to show in their choices. Like, it's a lot less of an 'home for weird or interesting show that don't fit anywhere else on network' and more of 'neo-CW on binge demand'.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Oh definitely, Sabrina is a show that isn’t mentioned in the article, but that was a case where they determinedly went after a show that was originally meant for the CW. And that is fine by me, just as long as they don’t then start expecting all of their new original shows to get the same immediate word of mouth and views/encourage showrunners to cater episode length for a weekend binge, because meh. I often take more time with shows and find it harder to watch everything in a single weekend (well for a start I work weekends lol), and I would not like to feel like that’s something that Netflix now expects of their shows before they view them as a hit.

I saw so many articles on how the Marvel shows were being talked about less on twitter and social media as they went on, and while of course there were many other factors going into those cancellations, I wonder if it would have made a difference if their later seasons were as talked about as their first, and seen as immediate massive hits. But obviously Daredevil in particular did have huge critical acclaim and a very positive response, we can see from the cancellation that a lot of people were watching (and many people are still on Twitter today saying that they’ve only just caught up with the third season, that they wanted to watch The Defenders and the other shows first), so I do worry if opening week figures are being seen as a bigger deal now when that’s something that we never used to have to worry about with Netflix

[giallarhorn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't know at what point they started weighting social media chatter more heavily than long term numbers? Like at the end of the day, does it matter that much if you're getting 100k views in the first week vs 100k views over a month? It seems like a really imbalanced metric to use, since it assumes that everyone's going to watch it straight away.

Daredevil is one of the weirder ones, for sure. Aside from the weird showdown with Marvel and Netflix, each Marvel show got less chatter as it went on, but that's the nature of a show, right? It's no longer a 'new' thing anymore, but a continuation of an old one, and you always have attrition in viewers as something goes on. The only time you maintain a steady behavior like that is if you drop new things all the time, but those are just one time wonders.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I suspect it hurt Daredevil as well that Netflix released sooo many shows connected to Marvel, so maybe viewers just ended up feeling overwhelmed at whether they need to catch up with the three other shows as well, plus The Defenders, before they could get started on Daredevil season 3. I’ve seen a number of people ask how they should chronologically watch the shows, or if they need to watch The Defenders before catching up with Daredevil. Perhaps it would have benefited Daredevil more if it was treated as its own thing, a release of a new DD season could have been build up as more of a special yearly event then, as opposed to just the next new Marvel chapter. I mean it did work for the movieverse to all be connected, but I suppose that it’s different for tv when you’re talking about 13 episodes of 50 minutes or more, that’s a lot more content to keep up to date with

But clearly the outrage has shown that it does still have a massive fanbase, even if it hasn’t been as talked about as it was in the very beginning. Heck Netflix are just as much to blame there though for doing next to nothing to promote it, The Punisher seemed to get twice as much promo recently I noticed

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I knew this was to start happening once they started cancelling shows for the only reason because they hadn't cancelled any of their shows yet.

I've always viewed Netflix as something to feature shows and movies that people wanted to see, whenever they wanted to. It was supposed to be the opposite of network television which gave people more options and availability to watch something. Them focusing on a singular demographic isn't going to do them any favors because the service is supposed to be for everyone, regardless of age. Then again, I never quite understood their measurement of what they choose to have, particularly their original shows and how they judge based on views/outside publicity, because a lot of good shows have been cancelled despite positive reviews and being critically acclaimed. Not to mention them switching things out from their service every so often. idk

I think it's going to become a bigger problem now that more companies are trying to start their own streaming services, competing against each other. Streaming services are now the new network television. It's still gonna be the same shit we've already had, just via streaming, and it's just going to alienate their audiences even more.

I never really go back and read old entries any more, it’s strange to read some of those entries and comments and remember that that was all ten years ago now. And a little sad to see some old faces commenting that I have completely lost touch with since...

I sometimes go back to check something, but it's really quite a trip when you take the time to look at the things you wrote, looking at how much you've grown, what's changed, etc. But I agree, it's sad when I see former ljfriends who are no longer here, either deleted their journals or just haven't been around for an update in years. Looking back at those conversations, it makes me wonder how they're doing, or even if they're even still around.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yep, that’s how I feel exactly, obviously I can appreciate cancelling a show if the viewing figures are *really* low, or if it’s *really* expensive and just not justifying the money being spend on it, but at the same time Netflix was meant to be set up originally to offer all kinds of niche programmes to everyone. So for example something like the 90’s based high school show Everything Sucks might be kind of a niche idea, but why cancel something like that when I’m sure it appeals to some of your customer base. It should be about offering more choice and a wider variety of shows to keep people subscribing imo, rather than only chasing the big hits

And it’s definitely feeling a bit much lately how many new streaming sites are starting up, apparently Apple will be releasing one in April, then there’s the new Disney streaming service, plus we have Now tv over here in the U.K., and supposedly Hulu made be available internationally soon as well. But really Netflix and Amazon Prime have more than enough content for me at the moment, I often feel overwhelmed with the amount of choice as it is lol, so I really don’t see myself paying for 4 or more streaming services every month

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I got the 10-year email from LJ.
It sent me a Spillow porn drabble that I wrote. :P

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It’s strange to look so far back isn’t it! In some respects it feels like forever ago, but it also feels like just yesterday in a way...