Netflix releases viewing figures for the first time

Netflix have published worldwide viewing figures from January to June this year, encompassing more than 18,000 movies and tv shows (for all titles watched for more than 50,000 hours), in an unprecedented new data transparency measure — granting the public a glimpse into the streamer's biggest successes and most under-viewed releases.

The unanticipated move marks the most exhaustive list of viewing figures ever to be made publicly available, by Netflix or any streamer; indicating a major departure for the company — who have historically held their data very closely, making little if any figures available to the general public. The streamer intends to publish identical reports semi-annually, respectively charting global streaming habits each six months.

The decision follows labour strikes by Hollywood writers’ and actors’ unions this year, which saw guilds winning key concessions on data transparency in settlement agreements.

“This is a big step forward for Netflix and our industry,” the company stated in a press release. “We believe the viewing information in this report… will give creators and our industry deeper insights into our audiences, and what resonates with them.”

Since 2021, Netflix has made weekly Top 10 lists available, as well as a regularly updated “most popular” leaderboard, based upon views within a title’s first 91 days on the platform. The new biannual report, entitled What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report, however, provides a much more comprehensive insight into the streaming giant's stats...

Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin and Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in Netflix's The Night Agent. Photo: Netflix

Conspiracy thriller The Night Agent was the biggest title in the first half of 2023, with 812.1 million hours watched globally, whilst season two of Ginny & Georgia was second, at 665.1 million hours, followed by Korean drama The Glory (622.8 million hours). Wednesday ranked fourth at 507.7 million hours of viewing, despite being released in November 2022. Other titles that fared well were You, Bridgerton spin-off series Queen Charlotte and season 3 of telenovela La Reina del Sur.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. (L to R) Neil Edmond as Earl Harcourt, Michelle Fairley as Princess Augusta, Richard Cunningham as Lord Bute in episode 102 of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix.

Original series and movies dominate the top of the chart, but Netflix's vice-president of strategy and analysis Lauren Smith told reporters that the split between original and licensed titles was more even: About 55 percent of viewing was for originals and 45 percent was for licensed shows and films.

In order to compile the report, Netflix are using total hours viewed as a means to measure user engagement, rather than the “view” formula it employs to compare titles in its weekly top 10 lists.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos refuted that the new initiative was spurned by talks with guilds, instead stating that the platform's lack of transparency had the unintended consequence of "creating an atmosphere of mistrust over time."

He told reporters that the company has been on a “continuum” of becoming more transparent as its streaming business has matured. Early on, he said, “It wasn’t in our interest to be that transparent because we were building a new business, and we didn’t want to give any competitors a roadmap. Creators liked it too, because they were free from the pressure of ratings.”

Netflix plans to continue prioritizing a sense of transparency within the company, making data publicly available in regular reports, but Sarandos is unsure if other streaming platforms will soon follow suit. “They’re all running their businesses as they see fit, and they’re all at different places in their existence,” Sarandos said of other platforms. “We thought very differently about it 10 years ago, too.”

“This is probably more information than you need." He added. "But I think it creates a better environment for the guilds, for us, for the producers, for creators, and for the press..."