Netflix released some viewership data today, but the new way the streamer has chosen to count its viewer numbers puts the actual success of these films and shows into question. According to Netflix (viaTHR),Michael Bay’s new action film6 Undergroundwas watched by 83 million member households in its first four weeks of release. And the first season of the buzzworthy fantasy seriesThe Witcherwas watched by 76 million member households through its first four weeks of release.
Those are pretty stellar numbers. Except they don’t count everyone thatactuallywatched the movie or TV show. Previously, Netflix counted only those who completed watching at least 70% of a film or TV episode as a view. Now, the streaming service has changed metrics to count anyone who watchesat least two minutesas a view. Which is, uh, insane.
For one, Netflix’s autoplay feature no doubt racks up tons of views before people decide to look away from their phone long enough to change the channel. So how many of those 83 million views for6 Undergroundwere merely a suggested “what to watch next” after people finished watchingTriple FrontierorLimitlessor something entirely different?
But more importantly, how in the world does two minutes of viewing time count as someone watching a thing? Why not go to 30 minutes, which at least counts viewers who gave the first act a shot? Or, crazy idea, why not count the full running time?
Netflix says this new metric is to level the playing field, and essentially shift from “watched” to “chose to watch.” Here’s their explanation viaEW:
“As we’ve expanded our original content, we’ve been working on how to best share content highlights that demonstrate popularity,” the shareholder letter reads. “Given that we now have titles with widely varying lengths — from short episodes (e.g.Specialat around 15 minutes) to long films (e.g.The Highwaymenat 132 minutes) — we believe that reporting households viewing a title based on 70 percent of a single episode of a series or of an entire film, which we have been doing, makes less sense. We are now reporting on households (accounts) that chose to watch a given title.”
The streamer went further, aligning this practice with that of BBC iPlayer, the New York Times' “most popular” stories, and YouTube view counts. So basically Netflix is counting those who view its films and shows less like box office or TV ratings and more like internet content.
Notably, Netflix did not provide any viewership data forMarriage StoryorThe Irishman, which are both in the thick of the Oscar race and don’t need any excuse for negative campaigning to get in the way of potential wins. The streaming service did, however, say the animated filmKlaus—which is up for the Best Animated Feature Oscar—was watched by 40 million households in its first 28 days. Or, more accurately, 40 million households watched at least two minutes ofKlaus.
