Netflix reveals what people are really watching
Netflix released its firstever “engagement report,” shining a light on what movies and series people are (and aren’t) watching on the streaming service.
The report, which was released Tuesday, includes viewership data for the movies and TV shows released on the streaming service between January and June 2023. Netflix said it will share new versions of the report every six months as a part of a move to be more transparent with the media, creators and viewers.
“This is probably more information than you need, but I think it creates a better environment for the guilds, for us, for the prohours, ducers, for creators and for the press,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told reporters.
The report listed more than 18,000 titles, representing 99% of all content viewed on the streaming service. The company said users viewed more than 100 billion hours in the first six months of 2023, with non-English-language stories generating 30% of all viewing.
The Netflix original show “The Night Agent” topped all programs on the service with more than 812 million viewing hours. “The Mother,” an action-thriller starring Jennifer Lopez, was the most-watched movie with 249.9 million hours.
One of Netflix’s more notable shows, “Wednesday,” starring Jenna Ortega, garnered 507.7 million while “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” had more than 503 million hours.
Netflix has long faced criticism from industry insiders, creators and the media for a lack of transparency about its viewership data. Actors and writers also raised the issue during the Hollywood strikes this year, calling on all streaming services to be more transparent about their viewership numbers so creators could be paid fairly based on how audiences engaged with their content. Obtaining more transparency was one of the major provisions that Hollywood writers secured in their new three-year contract.
“The more transparency the better,” said Michael Jamin, a TV writer and showrunner in Los Angeles. “It allows writers to better understand the value of our work, and to be compensated for it justly. The television business model has evolved, and how we get paid needs to evolve as well.”