Netflix is good at a variety of things. First, and foremost, the streaming service creates an absolutely ridiculous amount of original content, which is great for those looking for something new to scroll past during the two hours it takes the average viewer to decide what to watch. But the company is also very good at keeping numbers close to its vest. How many people watch your favorite Netflix series or film? Odds are you’ll never know. That is, unless Netflix wants to tell you. But according to one Netflix executive, that could be changing.
During a recent earnings call, Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix, said that the streaming service will likely change its attitude regarding keeping viewership numbers a secret, in an attempt at better transparency, not just with customers but also those working on the projects. Yes, that’s right, not even the creators of the mega-popular Netflix films and TV shows know how many people watch their stuff.
“Over the next several months, we’re going to be rolling out more specific and granular data and reporting,” Ted Sarandos said (via Deadline). “First to our producers, then our members and, of course, to the press over time and be more fully transparent about what people are watching on Netflix around the world.”
He added, “We are trying to get to a place where we can be a lot more transparent both with our producers and with our customers, who are incredibly interested in making better choices. A lot of times that’s influenced heavily by what the world’s watching.”
This news comes on the heels of the streaming service touting massive viewership numbers for some of its recent original programming. Netflix said that 52 million people watched the new Ben Affleck-starring film “Triple Frontier,” during its first month of release. In addition, the popular “Umbrella Academy” series was watched by over 45 million folks in its first month, and the viral “Fyre” documentary was seen by 20 million people in its first 30 days.
Perhaps, most surprising of all, “The Highwaymen,” starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson, was viewed by more than 40 million people in its first month, even without the apparent buzz that the aforementioned content received. That’s pretty incredible, if accurate.
And of course, you can multiply those viewership numbers for ‘Highwaymen’ and “Triple Frontier” by 10 and get the approximate dollar amount that comes to if those people paid for tickets at the theater. However, that stat is highly dubious and a bit misleading, considering that everyone viewed those films as part of their monthly subscription and we have no idea how many would actually pay ticket-price and go to the multiplex to watch them.
Either way, Netflix being more upfront about its numbers is nothing but a good thing for all involved. Instead of content creators being left in the dark about the status of their series or films, they’ll have a better idea of their popularity based on viewership analytics. And for fans, when Netflix cancels your favorite TV series, maybe they’ll give you more detailed reasons why.
We’ll just have to wait and see how the company decides to proceed.
