![]() Nope, they’re designed to encourage members to check out content others are already watching. ![]() Those top-ten lists of movies and TV shows that started popping up on your Netflix homepage earlier this year, for instance, weren’t about the company trying to be more transparent about who’s watching what on the service. It is thus very much in Netflix’s best interest to get you to watch something each and every time you start poking around its vast content universe. And over the last year or so, we have seen the company step up its efforts to do just that. It’s no big deal if that happens every so often, but folks who are continually frustrated by the sense that there’s nothing worth watching on Netflix may be more inclined to cancel their subscriptions. Sometimes, users simply give up and exit the app altogether. ![]() ![]() Netflix is well aware of the fact that many of us often spend five or ten minutes - sometimes more! - scrolling through its content rows looking for something worth watching. While the company is far from done signing up new subscribers, in more mature markets such as the U.S., where the company already reaches well over half the population, it is probably more important to find ways to retain existing customers. You do that either by coming up with more must-stream programming - or by innovating new ways to get audiences invested in shows and movies they don’t even know exist. Back in fall 2019, for example, a small number of users suddenly got the ability to adjust playback speed on mobile devices it wasn’t until this summer that the streamer made it available to anyone using an Android phone or tablet.Īt first glance, it might seem odd that Netflix would turn back time by launching a linear feed of its programming: Why bring back a viewing experience that dates back to the 1950s when your whole brand is built around reinventing television? But the decision to launch Direct actually makes sense when you think about one of Netflix’s most important missions right now, which is figuring out how to help members discover and sample its bountiful offerings. In the United States, for instance, TV consumption via linear channels still far outpaces tune-in via connected devices, at least among viewers over 35. So while Netflix may be testing Direct out first in France, don’t be shocked if the company ends up expanding the function to other territories, including the States, if data supports such a rollout. It is not uncommon for Netflix to test new features for six months to a year or more before making a call on wider distribution. Netflix’s post announcing Direct said it had chosen France for the test because “watching traditional TV remains hugely popular with people who just want a ‘lean back’ experience where they don’t have to choose shows.” So-called “lean-back” viewing is not a phenomenon limited to France, however. “We experiment with these types of tests in different countries - making them more broadly available if people find them useful.” “We’re always looking at new features to help our members discover great shows and films more easily,” a Netflix spokesperson told me via email. Right now, Direct is only available to a small percentage of French Netflix subscribers, but the company says it will roll out nationwide on December 5. Per Frandroid, the current incarnation of Direct presents users with a 24-hour grid so they can see what’s coming up next on the virtual channel, with programming refreshed every few days based, at least in part, on what’s popular among all Netflix France subscribers. It’s called “Direct,” and the company describes it as “a web-based experience that’s the same for everyone who watches it: a real-time service that gives our members in France some of the best French and European content” from the Netflix program library. Last week, Netflix France announced it had begun testing a new feature that basically lets subscribers watch a version of the service that looks and feels like a traditional linear TV channel. That’s how things have worked since the days of Lilyhammer and House of Cards (okay, actually even before then), and there is no reason to believe the company has any interest in changing that fundamental way it distributes programming.īut that doesn’t mean the streamer might not be open to at least flirting with some other models. There are no time slots or channels or program schedules in its version of television - just endless rows of content ready to be streamed at the click of a button. Netflix is a service built around the idea of giving consumers the ability to watch what they want, whenever they want.
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