This is a wonderful gold mine for data geeks. The real question to me is why Netflix is releasing this. It's a massive boon for their competitors. My instinct is they either were hacked/people were able to game the recommendations enough to get at it that they decided to just share it. Unexpected.
This is a result of the union negotiations with the WGA, which demanded and won that all streamers disclose exactly this. Expect to see this for every other streaming service imminently.
> Streaming data transparency: Companies agree to provide the Guild the total number of hours streamed, both domestically and internationally, of self-produced high budget streaming programs (e.g., a Netflix original series). Aggregated information can be shared.
Netflix wants to licence more content and sees value in demonstrating to the stock market that it has the best economics to do so.
If Netflix can get ten million viewers for a tier 2 general entertainment series, the IP holders should pick Netflix as a partner over a Paramount+ type service that can only get a few hundred thousand viewers.
It’s no coincidence this announcement is coming at a time when everyone is trying to reduce first party content spend.
Just goes to show how much people make things up and couldn’t be further from the truth (see other comments for why this information was released, this one is flat out wrong).
There was a major transparency ask from both writers and other creative community members as part of demands during the recent SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, perhaps publishing the data was part of the settlement in those disputes.
> Streaming data transparency: Companies agree to provide the Guild the total number of hours streamed, both domestically and internationally, of self-produced high budget streaming programs (e.g., a Netflix original series). Aggregated information can be shared.
They've gotten a reputation for canceling shows. Creatives feel that it's unjustified, and I'm assuming they feel that it's justified based on the numbers the shows are pulling in and the cost.
And they feel that transparency about this is the best way to demonstrate their case. That the data backs up their decisions.
Most network show cancelations come with low rating that everyone can see. This is their equivalent of releasing ratings so people can see the reasons for their cancelations.
