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1/ A thread on Netflix viewership metrics.
Why I’m okay with using these numbers and what they mean.
Why I’m okay with using these numbers and what they mean.
2/ In general, I’m fine using all these sources to triangulate how many folks are watching a given Netflix show. I know we wish we had more data (and trust me no one wants more than me!), but I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
3/ The way I think about it is any data set is a tool. Different tools have different uses. That’s what I hope to show with this thread.
4/ For the cooking analogy, if you want to make ice cream, you need an ice cream maker. But if you want to make cookies, you need a stand mixer. Different tools get different outcomes.
5 / As for my bonafides on this, again, check my bio at my website. But I spend years immersed in streaming data for a streamer, so I know what data can and can’t do. https://entertainmentstrategyguy.com/about-me/
6/ / We’ve had a couple of pieces of data enter the fray, and I’m going to talk about two. First, is Nielsen’s weekly top 10 for streaming.
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/top-ten/
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/top-ten/
7/ / As a tool, I love it. But let’s clarify what this tool does.
It tells you what gets the most viewership in total volume.
It tells you what gets the most viewership in total volume.
8/ / Clearly, Nielsen doesn’t differentiate between different seasons of a show, likely because it doesn’t have that level of data fidelity.
But this is fine! Again, we’re making “total viewership ice cream” here, not “newly launched cookies”.
But this is fine! Again, we’re making “total viewership ice cream” here, not “newly launched cookies”.
9/ One of the most important drivers of retention on a service is time on platform. You can measure this by total hours or by unique days using in a week or month. But time matters.
10/ Clearly, when you look by season, long running TV shows are delivering that for Netflix. This is why it is important to track. And Nielsen is giving us that.
11/ Now let’s review a criticism. Some folks complain that Nielsen *only* provides living room TV data. First, that’s a majority of viewership. So that’s a pretty good slice to have!
12/ Second, viewership by device doesn’t change tremendously when it comes to rankings as folks my guess. Whether you’re watching on your iPad, phone or desktop, it tends to be the same, within a territory.
13/ My guess is 80-90% of the top ten list for living room is the same as tablet. I think desktop/laptop is even higher. Tablet may be skewed towards kids content, but still probably not.
Again, within a territory, viewership by device isn't meaningful.
Again, within a territory, viewership by device isn't meaningful.
14/ Territory is a useful note, though. Viewership can vary wildly between different countries.
So while within a territory (say the US, or UK or India, etc) is roughly similar by device and metric, that isn't the same across borders.
So while within a territory (say the US, or UK or India, etc) is roughly similar by device and metric, that isn't the same across borders.
15/ So I'd love to have Nielsen data globally, but we just don't have that.
But we do have...
But we do have...
16/ The contrasting tool is Netflix’s daily top ten lists. My favorite look at this is from Variety’s VIP service using Flix Patrol. https://variety.com/vip/data-netflixs-most-popular-domestic-shows-in-july-1234724132/?cx_testId=48&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=4#cxrecs_s
17/ I like this look because they’re compiling monthly views. That filters out some of the noise and is a little more signal.
18/ It’s useful to think about why this is useful but different than Nielsen. My guess is Netflix filters by one of two criteria: 1. They don’t let old content make the list, meaning if it “launched” in a previous year. Or 2. They sort by season
19/ The long running series, then would suffer in this metric. Because if folks are bingeing the entire series, they’re viewership will naturally be more spread out.
20/ But this really helps to know what could be bringing in customers, which is new TV series. So we can really compare fresh content to each other with the Flix Patrol data.
21/ The other limitation with top ten lists, unlike Nielsen, is that we don't have volume. Nielsen gives minutes viewed, whereas Netflix/FlixPatrol can only provide a number.
22/ Another criticism of both lists: These are only top ten lists!
While the top ten likely account for a huge chunk of the viewing—winner takes all distributions and what not—obviously a top 100 is more useful than a top 10, and so on.
While the top ten likely account for a huge chunk of the viewing—winner takes all distributions and what not—obviously a top 100 is more useful than a top 10, and so on.
23/ Let’s talk implications of these two data pieces:
First, viewership secrecy won’t be a thing in the future. That’s just the reality we’re trending towards. (And I wrote about this before and in my last column.) https://entertainmentstrategyguy.com/2020/09/04/most-important-story-of-the-week-4-sep-20-the-fall-of-fall-tv-advertising-revenue/
First, viewership secrecy won’t be a thing in the future. That’s just the reality we’re trending towards. (And I wrote about this before and in my last column.) https://entertainmentstrategyguy.com/2020/09/04/most-important-story-of-the-week-4-sep-20-the-fall-of-fall-tv-advertising-revenue/
24/ / Between these two sources, and more to come, we’ll have a better and better picture of what’s working on streaming and what isn’t. This should benefit non-Netflix streamers and talent.
25/ Thank you to some folks who I either first saw the data or who provided it:
@azalben
@Variety @awallenstein @flixpatrol
@nielsen
@azalben
@Variety @awallenstein @flixpatrol
@nielsen
