The Secret Behind the Top 10 Series on Netflix

When the most-watched series and movies lists appeared on Netflix in early 2020, they were topping the “10 Most Popular” list, noticed by users and the media. It was inevitable. The company is very confidential when it comes to project audiences, reporting in a trickle and always from a very appropriate perspective (we’ve already written about unreliable audiences in articles like this), so the list was helpful to build an idea of ​​what was successful and what wasn’t. Why did Netflix choose to announce its most successful titles? What is the reason for the menus?

Report from the portal Eagle Explain why. While it can be believed that the Top 10 of Netflix (and the top 10 series and the top 10 movies) is nothing but a tool for showcasing the most popular titles in different markets or to sell a certain sense of transparency, whoever defends the data is real and has one goal: to contribute to content consumption Within the platform because the viewer wants to be up to date.

Reason

The viewer is interested in seeing what other people are following: so that they can be part of the conversation

They realized on Netflix that the viewer was interested in knowing what users were watching in their area and being able to participate in the conversation. The company’s vice president of products, Todd Yellen, explained it nicely with an example: “They want to be in the conversation:” Everyone is watching the Queen’s gambit. I see it first on Netflix. Damn it, I wanna be a part of this. “So now, to complete algorithm customization, we’re also highlighting popularity.”

An important fact also needs to be taken into consideration: the series that appear in the most watched titles are not the ones that have had the most number of minutes that your users watched. The data that Netflix uses is based onChoose to watch(I.e., “I chose to watch”) count all those people who decided to watch at least two minutes from any title. This is the metric that Netflix has used since 2020 when it comes to reporting fans of the series: when the platform indicates that 82 million homes have watched Bridgerton is in its first month in the catalog, it actually shows that 82 million homes have seen at least two minutes into the chain.

Regarding lists, this “choose to watch” criterion is convincing. While US crowd analysis Nielsen announces which headlines have consumed the most minutes, that data isn’t always an indication of what works. If you put a string like Grey’s Anatomy In a catalog with 370 episodes to its credit, it is easy for a viewer to consume more minutes than that series of minutes. Halston, The new fashion series with Ewan McGregor, which has only five chapters to its credit, or comic formats that are less than twenty minutes long, such as Interconnectedness a Special. Of course, the movies will have serious problems accessing the most watched content lists (in the full list, those that mix series, movies, reality shows, documentaries, and comedy specials).

However, the current listings are the result of a testing process that started with the “Popular on Netflix” section still in the catalog list. This section, for example, is intended for users. The philosophy of Netflix (and what consumer data transmits) is that it is pointless to suggest series and movies to a user if they do not adapt to the users’ tastes. When one day in South Korea they tried to present the really most iconic titles without adapting them to every account, they found the reception to be somewhat lukewarm.

criticism

The list consists of the number of times you “choose” to view certain content and not the minutes that are spent

It wasn’t until 2019 that they made the first list as the most watched movies and series were clearly and clearly arranged. He was in the UK. But there they also discovered a bug that deserved a solution. In the beginning, they did their Top 10 updated only once a week. Although it is interesting, the lack of changes and variations from day to day means that the user was not very familiar with the list.

That is why they finally choose to implement a copy of the top ten most viewed list which is updated every 24 hours: so the viewer reacts and is more attentive, and at the same time becomes aware of content that could spark further conversation (thus you need to know if you want to keep up with people from Around you). The list consists of the most watched series in that country to make sure users spot the hit titles around them.

Upgrades

Lists are updated every 24 hours so that the user is constantly aware of changes in user behavior and popularity of the content

So, while some are skeptical about the listings, even though Netflix refers to it being “100% objective” (you have to take their word for it, and of course, they have an interest in projecting certain content as a general success or attraction to a series or movies. ” Specific), new modifications have already been proposed to the platform as shown in Vulture: a possible vertical list of the 100 most popular titles or types of bags with what goes up and what goes down.