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How Netflix Uses Analytics To Select Movies, Create Content, & Make Multimillion Dollar Decisions. In 2. 00. 6 Netflix announced the Netflix Prize, a competition for creating an algorithm that would “substantially improve the accuracy of predictions about how much someone is going to enjoy a movie based on their movie preferences.” There was a winner, which improved the algorithm by 1.

However, Netflix never did implement the algorithm, saying: “We evaluated some of the new methods offline but the additional accuracy gains that we measured did not seem to justify the engineering effort needed to bring them into a production environment.”But Netflix didn’t shun all algorithm and data efforts. To the uninitiated, it may seem that Netflix’s analytics go only as far as views. They may also think that the show House of Cards was chosen because Netflix “thought subscribers might like it.” But the truth is much, much deeper. The $1. 00 million show wasn’t green- lighted solely because it seemed like a good plot. The decision was based on a number of factors and seemingly almost entirely on data. The reality is that Netflix is a data- driven company.

Saying that Netflix chooses new content based on “whoever they can get a license with” is a very thin and vague statement. Netflix does need licenses from studios, but they don’t just pick movies and television shows at random. Read on to learn more about the future of television programming and how analytics is helping Netflix become a better business and service. Analytics at Netflix. The core job of analytics is to help companies gain insight into their customers. Then, the companies can optimize their marketing and deliver a better product. Without analytics, companies are in the dark about their customers.) Analytics gives businesses the quantitative data they need to make better, more informed decisions and improve their services.

Catch up on all the latest TV news, photos, videos, and opinion. How Netflix Uses Analytics To Select Movies, Create Content, and Make Multimillion Dollar Decisions.

So how does Netflix use analytics?“There are 3. Netflix.”– Joris Evers, Director of Global Communications. At current count, Netflix has 1. Having this large user base allows Netflix to gather a tremendous amount of data. With this data, Netflix can make better decisions and ultimately make users happier with their service. Traditional television networks don’t have these kinds of privileges in their broadcasting. Ratings are just approximations, green- lighting a pilot is based on tradition and intuition.

Netflix has the advantage, because being an internet company allows Netflix to know their customers well, not just have a “persona” or “idea” of what their average customer is like. Let’s look at an example.

If you’re watching a series like Arrested Development, Netflix is able to see (on a large scale) the “completion rate” (for lack of a better term) of users. For example, the people at Netflix could ask themselves “How many users who started Arrested Development (from season 1) finished it to the end of season 3?” Then they get an answer. Let’s say it’s 7. Then they ask “Where was the common cut off point for users? What did the other 3. How big of a ‘time gap’ was there between when consumers watched one episode and when they watched the next?

We need to get a good idea of the overall engagement of this show.”They then gather this data and see user trends to understand engagement at a deep level. If Netflix saw that 7. Arrested Development. They know there’s a good chance users will watch the new season. But the data gets deeper than that. Here’s a look at some of the “events” Netflix tracks: When you pause, rewind, or fast forward. What day you watch content (Netflix has found people watch TV shows during the week and movies during the weekend.)The date you watch.

What time you watch content. Where you watch (zip code)What device you use to watch (Do you like to use your tablet for TV shows and your Roku for movies? Do people access the Just for Kids feature more on their i. Pads, etc.?)When you pause and leave content (and if you ever come back)The ratings given (about 4 million per day)Searches (about 3 million per day)Browsing and scrolling behavior. Netflix also looks at data within movies. They take various “screen shots” to look at “in the moment” characteristics.

Netflix has confirmed they know when the credits start rolling; but there’s far more to it than just that. Some have figured these characteristics may be the volume, colors, and scenery that help Netflix find out what users like. Watch Online Watch Win Win Full Movie Online Film. Why does Netflix want to know when the credits roll? They probably want to see what users do afterward. Do they leave the app or go back to browsing? Notice how Netflix now offers movie recommendations (they have personalization algorithms that aim to accurately predict what users will watch next) soon after credits start (or, for television shows, they automatically play the next episode). Because if users leave the app after watching a show, that may mean they are more likely to cancel.

Allow me to explain: Through their analytics, Netflix may know how much content users need to watch in order to be less likely to cancel. For instance, maybe they know “If we can get each user to watch at least 1. If they drop below 5 hours, there is a 9. So now that they have this data, they can ask themselves “How do we help users watch at least 1. One idea: enable post- play, which automatically plays the next episode of a TV show unless the user opts out.

For movies, show movie suggestions (based on the rating of the movie just watched) right after the credits start rolling and allow users to press play right from that screen. Netflix can add this feature to their web and mobile apps and, again, through analytics, see the results. This is only a theory of how Netflix came to the decision to implement post- play and an example of how analytics can help Netflix make decisions.

I don’t have any inside information. So all of this data and the large user base allow Netflix to quickly see trends and formulate opinions.

Later, we’ll get into the factors that made them green- light House of Cards. The Recommendation Algorithm. As part of the on- boarding process, Netflix asks new users to rate their interest in movie genres and rate any movies they’ve already seen. Why do they do this right up front? Because helping users discover new movies and TV shows they’ll enjoy is integral to Netflix’s success.

If people run out of movies they want to watch and have no way to find new movies, they’ll cancel. It’s important that Netflix puts a lot of focus on making sure they have an accurate algorithm for this rather than having users rely on outside sources to find new movies. Is the recommendation algorithm accurate and successful? Since 7. 5% of viewer activity is based on these suggestions, I’d say it works pretty well for them.

But now that more users are moving to streaming, what they actually watch is more important than ratings. When it was DVD- by- mail, Netflix users had to wait, and the rating was a “thought process.” Netflix engineers Xavier Amatriain and Carlos Gomez- Uribe explain: Amatriain: “When we were a DVD- by- mail company and people gave us a rating, they were expressing a thought process. You added something to your queue because you wanted to watch it a few days later; there was a cost in your decision and a delayed reward.

With instant streaming, you start playing something, you don’t like it, you just switch. Watch Senior Skip Day Online more.

The Best Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Acquired Series You’re Not Watching. In this era of “Peak TV” there doesn’t seem to be enough time to bother with drama and comedy imports. But while there are more than enough American shows to binge, it would be a mistake to bypass great foreign TV.

After all, that would mean missing out on fan favorites like “Doctor Who,” “Orphan Black,” “Downton Abbey” and “Sherlock.”Foreign TV has spawned hit U. S. adaptations like “Homeland” and “The Office,” as well as pale imitations of the original. Remember the failed American versions of “The IT Crowd” and “Coupling”? Yeah, we’d like to forget ’em as well. READ MORE: The TV Show You Need to Watch on Every Network, Right Now — A Running List. It’s a shame that the major streaming services rarely showcase their foreign acquisitions as well as their homegrown originals.

We get it; there is just too much damn TV to give all these extra shows the attention they deserve, so it makes more sense to promote series that are produced in- house. Indie. Wire has sifted through some of these unsung imports to find a few gems hidden in plain sight. First, a couple of rules: 1. To qualify, these series must have aired first in another country. Don’t be fooled by the word “Original.” The streaming services often use the word “original” to denote shows that are premiering for the first time on our shores, but may not in fact be created as an original series in- house. The series cannot be a co- production between the streaming service and a foreign company. In some cases, American producers or distributors are involved, but the show’s original network is overseas.)The Best TV Imports on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are listed in alphabetical order: “Chewing Gum” (Netflix)“Chewing Gum”Netflix.

This spiritual cousin of Issa Rae’s “Insecure” stars playwright Michaela Coel as Tracey, a young Londoner with sex on the brain. Too bad she’s still a virgin… engaged to a guy who doesn’t seem interested in her… and raised in a very religious family. The show has earned praise for its fearless wit and its depiction of an everyday black woman with her own colorful and imperfect personality.“Crazyhead” (Netflix)Susan Wokoma and Cara Theobold, “Crazyhead”Netflix. We would never invoke the name “Buffy” lightly, but this British supernatural action- comedy certainly scratches that Sunnyvale itch. Starring Susan Wokoma and “Downton Abbey’s” Cara Theobald as the Millennial demon hunters Raquel and Amy, respectively, “Crazyhead” immediately veers into jolly but wicked territory from the get- go. Despite battling those with a supernatural, everything feels incredibly earthbound, especially with the matter- of- fact emphasis on sex and sometimes even bodily functions.

Despite the outrageous circumstances, writer Howard Overman (who had created the similarly high- energy “Misfits” below) has a deft hand with characterizations, which elevates the show beyond a mere romp.“The Fall” (Netflix)Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan, “The Fall”Netflix. This British- Irish crime series is a cat- and- mouse game as its finest, and unfortunately for Gillian Anderson, who plays Det. Stella Gibson, she’s occasionally seems to be the mouse to serial killer Paul Spector’s (Jamie Dornan) cat. His appetite for attacking young professional women is all the more frightening because he’s also incredibly strategic and plays a long game when it comes to his “fun.” Saying too much more will give away the game, but these three short seasons are an easy and addictive binge.“Glitch” (Netflix)Patrick Brammall, “Glitch”Netflix. Bless the Australians, because they’re giving us some of the eeriest shows with sneaky, character- based drama to ground it. In the small town of Yoorana, police sergeant James Hayes (Patrick Brammall) is shocked when six dead locals rise from their graves seemingly in perfect health but without memory of their own identities. Adding a bit of heartache to this craziness: James knows one of the Risen.

While he tries to understand the link between the six people — and why they can’t leave town or risk losing their supernatural good health — James’ reunion with his resurrected friend is marred by issues in his personal life. Like “The Returned” or “The Leftovers,” the fantastical elements of the series feel tinged by the supernatural or possibly Biblical.“Happy Valley” (Netflix)Sarah Lancanshire and Jamie Dorrington, “Happy Valley”Ben Blackall/Netflix. Like the excellent “Broadchurch” and “Top of the Lake,” there is an intimacy about living and breathing in these small towns that concentrates the noir- ish elements of crime and personal demons. The first season’s abduction storyline takes center stage, but compounding that are the surprising depths of one villain’s frightening toxicity. Meanwhile, the excellent Sarah Lancashire as Sgt.

Catherine Cawood is the mature, steely cop we need, but she also has her own issues. The man behind her daughter’s brutal rape and eventual suicide is now out of jail. All of this coalesces into an intense experience punctuated by episodes of brutal violence. It’s a lot to take but is beautifully parsed out over the course of six episodes. In the second season, Catherine tackles a murder investigation, and it’s just as satisfying.“The Kettering Incident” (Amazon)Elizabeth Debicki, “The Kettering Incident”Amazon.

If you have a hankering for the mysteriously creepy after watching “Stranger Things,” taste the Tasmanian gothic with this Australian import. Elizabeth Debicki, who you may remember from “The Night Manager,” stars as Dr. Anna Macy, who’s been suffering from inexplicable episodes: nosebleeds, seeing bright lights and waking up in odd places with no memory of where she’s been. It’s all related to an incident that happened in her childhood when her friend Gillian disappeared while they were riding bikes through a Tasmanian forest in Kettering. It’s been 1. 5 years since that event, and when Anna returns home, another girl goes missing, prompting Anna to seek out answers for what happened to Gillian. With a gorgeously cool palette, the beautifully shot series builds eerie moment upon eerie moment, creating an atmosphere of surreal danger just hovering out of reach of what we can discern. Can we all say “Upside Down Under”?“Misfits” (Hulu)Iwan Rheon, “Misfits”Hulu“Game of Thrones” bastard Iwan Rheon and Antonia Thomas (yes, the same Antonia Thomas from “Lovesick” above).

When a freak electrical storm bestows these miscreants with supernatural powers, their behavior goes from merely bad to accidentally deadly. Morally bankrupt but fun, these charismatic misfits fulfill our unspoken desires for mischief and mayhem. The series gets a huge facelift over its five seasons but also boasts a number of well- known recurring stars, including Michelle Fairley and Ellie Kendrick from “Game of Thrones,” “Downton Abbey’s” Jessica Brown Findlay and Ruth Negga, who’s received a slew of nominations and awards for her role in the big- screen “Loving.”“Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” (Netflix)“Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”Netflix. Even without the mysteries, the irrepressible and irresistible Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) is a woman worth watching. Not only is she the epitome of 1.

Melbourne, but she has the most charming way about solving puzzles that balances perception, practicality and lots of chutzpah. As a woman who’s ahead of her time, Phryne unrepentantly pursues her lusts, carries a pearl- handled revolver and exceeds the speed limit.