Unveiling the Flaws of Netflix's 2023 Engagement Report

The Limitations of Viewership Data

Netflix's first-ever comprehensive viewership data release in December 2023 has offered unprecedented access to the performance metrics of the streaming service. However, the release of the 'What We Watched' engagement report has raised concerns about the context and limitations of the data. While the report provides insider data on the total viewership for Netflix original and licensed titles, it fails to offer a detailed picture of what titles are performing best on Netflix outside of the six-month window. The release of the viewership data appears to have intentional flaws that hinder a complete understanding of the streaming giant's performance metrics.

Peter Sutherland from The Night Agent

The most interesting part of Netflix's 2023 Engagement Report is that it doesn't differentiate between films and television series. This creates a somewhat warped way of analyzing the data, as television series inherently have longer runtimes than movies, which forces the viewer to take extra steps to harness a more reflective picture of what is actually the most popular content on the platform during the limited window. Because of this, the report presents a skewed ranking of the most successful content on Netflix based on total hours viewed.

Ginny and Georgia driving in a convertible

Furthermore, the report does not provide a clear ranking of content based on the 'views' metric, which is measured by dividing hours viewed by runtime. The absence of this metric makes it challenging to accurately evaluate the popularity of content on the platform. Additionally, the report does not take into account actual engagement metrics, such as the completion of a series from start to finish, further limiting its ability to reflect the true success of Netflix's content.

The titular Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) smiling deviously in a close-up shot from Wednesday.

Concealment of Release Strategies

The release of Netflix's Engagement Report has raised questions about the concealment of data on different release strategies. The organization of the report appears to underplay and inflate certain titles, making it tricky to compare the impact of new releases on similar or related content. For example, the report fails to provide insight into how new releases affect viewership of related content, such as the impact of the May 2023 release of 'Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story' on the viewership of 'Bridgerton' seasons 1 and 2. This lack of comparison limits the report's ability to provide insightful information about Netflix's content engagement.

Penn Badgley as Joe in You Season 4, Part 2

Moreover, the report appears to conceal the impact of split releases, as exemplified by the data related to 'Firefly Lane season 2.' By combining viewership data from split releases within the time frame, the report fails to paint the most accurate picture of viewership and engagement throughout the platform. This deliberate concealment of data raises concerns about the transparency and comprehensiveness of the Engagement Report.

Outer Banks Season 3 Sarah and Topper

The Incomplete Picture of Success

Another major flaw of Netflix's 2023 Engagement Report is its failure to capture the complete picture of success. The report solely focuses on viewership data and overlooks key factors such as the cost of production and/or acquisition, which would contextualize the decisions behind content rollout approaches and renewals/cancellations. The absence of this additional information limits the report's ability to provide a comprehensive understanding of Netflix's content strategy and the thinking behind its content-related decisions.

Melissa Roxburgh in Manifest season 4

Furthermore, the report's ranking of content is impacted by factors such as runtime, release date, and production costs, which are not taken into consideration. As a result, the report's ranking does not accurately reflect the impact and success of Netflix's content. This flaw highlights that viewership is not the only, or even the most impactful, metric of success, and the report fails to provide a holistic view of the performance of Netflix's content.

Jennifer Lopez as The Mother Wearing a Winter Coat and Holding a Gun in The Mother