How to get an increase in “views” on streaming platforms. On the Netflix (NFLX.US) website, every increase in “views” means that a video is watched by a single user for more than 2 minutes.
The Zhitong Finance app discovered that Netflix changed the definition of “watching” in its financial report for the first quarter of 2020. Netflix used to mean that users watched more than 70% of a certain series or movie, but now it has changed the definition of “watching” to just watch any movie or TV series for 2 minutes, then it will be calculated as a “watch” once.
The company acknowledged that the change in the definition of “watch” increased its audience by one-third or more.
Netflix executives said in a quarterly letter to shareholders that the number of views under the new standard was about 35% higher than the previous average. For example, the number of users watching “Our Planet” under the new standard is 45 million, compared to 33 million under the old standard.
According to Netflix's latest performance report, the new definition indicates that a “watch” means that a user chose to watch and watched for at least 2 minutes — a sufficiently long viewing time indicates that this audience is interested in the revised content. Counting two minutes of viewing as a new number of views, Netflix said its goal was to convey the show's popularity rather than its actual audience size.
Netflix wrote in a letter to shareholders that its new definition is closer to the definition of “watching” by competitors such as YouTube. The new definition is similar to the “most popular” and “most clicked” hits rankings on other websites. Through this approach, short series and long films will be treated more fairly, providing a level playing field for all types of content (including interactive content without a fixed length).
Streaming platforms have largely avoided providing ratings data like cable TV, which uses ratings data to attract advertisers. Traditional media companies regularly publish ratings information, and companies such as Nielsen will provide larger and more detailed ratings data. This data helps advertisers choose programs and platforms to advertise, and Netflix has long stated that this does not affect its streaming services without commercials.
For many years, Netflix has avoided providing ratings data, but starting last year, the company began providing limited ratings data in its quarterly earnings report. In April last year, Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos (Ted Sarandos) said he expected to expand the data information provided in the future.
Salendos said, “Over the next few months, Netflix will launch more specific reports, first on its producers, and then on the company members. Over time, Netflix will become more transparent, so that the world can know what people are watching on Netflix.”