Comments | frelling_tralk: Netflix ramblings

frelling_tralk

Netflix ramblings

Jan 28, 2019 14:42

Netflix's Latest Numbers Show It Has One Demographic in MindI’ve definitely been starting to get the feeling lately that Netflix are becoming a more traditional network with chasing youth. Clearly they want the younger viewers who have more time on their hands to binge watch in a weekend and make something part of pop culture immediately, as ( Read more... )

netflix, #10yearschallenge, spn

Comments 27

malicat January 28 2019, 22:04:10 UTC

Especially when Netflix don’t even have advertisers to worry about, so one age group really shouldn’t be valued any more than another

This! I mean,on regular networks I can at least somewhat understand the thought process as younger people are presumably influenced by ads easier or something? It's still a dumb system but on Netflix they don't even have the ads lmao

frelling_tralk January 29 2019, 16:59:11 UTC

And also it’s far more likely that teenagers are watching with a shared family account, so if anything I would think they would want to cater to us oldies more, we’re the ones with the most disposable income after all!

yourlibrarian January 30 2019, 02:08:20 UTC

True, but I think they're banking on the future. They want to hook them now while it's still free to them so that they'll pay for their own accounts in the future.

They've been pretty clear that they're less concerned about other streaming services than video games and YouTube.

goldenusagi January 29 2019, 02:44:58 UTC

Only now they seem to be returning more to how the original networks did it when they boast about how many viewers watched certain shows in the opening week

Yeah. I thought with streaming services, we were finally moving AWAY from this model. Guess not.

frelling_tralk January 29 2019, 17:04:52 UTC

It did seem that way for a while, so I definitely think it’s a worrying sign that Netflix suddenly care so much about immediate viewing figures now, especially when it’s clearly shows aimed at the ~younger demo~ that get the biggest early rush of bingewatches

violateraindrop January 29 2019, 19:04:08 UTC

Iron Fist really benefitted from having a shorter season, but that doesn't mean all shows should be shorter. I rarely sit down and watch a season within a weekend even though I could do it. I kinda thought their audience was 19+, more like college students who don't want to spend money on expensive cable packages and spend a weekend binging a show (instead of alcohol I guess lol).

However, I have also noticed that it does seem like they are going backward. They suddenly started canceling shows (not just Marvel ones) and now they want to add ads?
It also seemed weird when they suddenly announced how many people watched Bird Box when that was something they never disclosed before.
A lot of people use it to watch (or binge) network shows, like Brooklyn Nine-Nine or even Supernatural, but Netflix now seems to concentrate on its original content. Just like a network would...

I got one of those e-mails. At that time I didn't use LJ as much as a private journal though, so it was just an entry with icon textures :D

frelling_tralk January 29 2019, 20:51:42 UTC

Iron Fist really benefitted from having a shorter season, but that doesn't mean all shows should be shorter. I rarely sit down and watch a season within a weekend even though I could do it

I agree, they do seem to have decided on ten episodes as the perfect season length lately, but there are plenty of shows that really benefit from 13 episodes or more. I generally don’t watch an entire season in a weekend anyway, especially if it’s a new show that I’m trying out for the first time, a couple of episodes per night is my preference, so while there are all these jokes about Netflix being the originator of binge watching etc, still it feels a bit odd if Netflix are now deciding that that’s the only right way to watch. A lot of people like to take their time with a show, that shouldn’t matter when Netflix don’t have advertisers to impress with opening night ratings ( ... )

giallarhorn January 30 2019, 03:25:48 UTC

I think the article makes a really good point with-

Is Netflix as dependent on Gen Z as Gen Z is on Netflix?

Which I think is the former than the latter, but I think realization by Netflix themselves in how dependent they are on that demographic to stay relevant is definitely starting to show in their choices. Like, it's a lot less of an 'home for weird or interesting show that don't fit anywhere else on network' and more of 'neo-CW on binge demand'.

frelling_tralk January 30 2019, 11:42:29 UTC

Oh definitely, Sabrina is a show that isn’t mentioned in the article, but that was a case where they determinedly went after a show that was originally meant for the CW. And that is fine by me, just as long as they don’t then start expecting all of their new original shows to get the same immediate word of mouth and views/encourage showrunners to cater episode length for a weekend binge, because meh. I often take more time with shows and find it harder to watch everything in a single weekend (well for a start I work weekends lol), and I would not like to feel like that’s something that Netflix now expects of their shows before they view them as a hit ( ... )

giallarhorn February 7 2019, 14:29:05 UTC

Yeah, I don't know at what point they started weighting social media chatter more heavily than long term numbers? Like at the end of the day, does it matter that much if you're getting 100k views in the first week vs 100k views over a month? It seems like a really imbalanced metric to use, since it assumes that everyone's going to watch it straight away.

Daredevil is one of the weirder ones, for sure. Aside from the weird showdown with Marvel and Netflix, each Marvel show got less chatter as it went on, but that's the nature of a show, right? It's no longer a 'new' thing anymore, but a continuation of an old one, and you always have attrition in viewers as something goes on. The only time you maintain a steady behavior like that is if you drop new things all the time, but those are just one time wonders.

frelling_tralk February 7 2019, 19:57:19 UTC

I suspect it hurt Daredevil as well that Netflix released sooo many shows connected to Marvel, so maybe viewers just ended up feeling overwhelmed at whether they need to catch up with the three other shows as well, plus The Defenders, before they could get started on Daredevil season 3. I’ve seen a number of people ask how they should chronologically watch the shows, or if they need to watch The Defenders before catching up with Daredevil. Perhaps it would have benefited Daredevil more if it was treated as its own thing, a release of a new DD season could have been build up as more of a special yearly event then, as opposed to just the next new Marvel chapter. I mean it did work for the movieverse to all be connected, but I suppose that it’s different for tv when you’re talking about 13 episodes of 50 minutes or more, that’s a lot more content to keep up to date with ( ... )

rogueslayer452 January 30 2019, 05:02:31 UTC

I knew this was to start happening once they started cancelling shows for the only reason because they hadn't cancelled any of their shows yet.

I've always viewed Netflix as something to feature shows and movies that people wanted to see, whenever they wanted to. It was supposed to be the opposite of network television which gave people more options and availability to watch something. Them focusing on a singular demographic isn't going to do them any favors because the service is supposed to be for everyone, regardless of age. Then again, I never quite understood their measurement of what they choose to have, particularly their original shows and how they judge based on views/outside publicity, because a lot of good shows have been cancelled despite positive reviews and being critically acclaimed. Not to mention them switching things out from their service every so often. idk ( ... )

frelling_tralk January 30 2019, 11:54:35 UTC

Yep, that’s how I feel exactly, obviously I can appreciate cancelling a show if the viewing figures are *really* low, or if it’s *really* expensive and just not justifying the money being spend on it, but at the same time Netflix was meant to be set up originally to offer all kinds of niche programmes to everyone. So for example something like the 90’s based high school show Everything Sucks might be kind of a niche idea, but why cancel something like that when I’m sure it appeals to some of your customer base. It should be about offering more choice and a wider variety of shows to keep people subscribing imo, rather than only chasing the big hits ( ... )