Notoriously secretive about its data, Netflix has finally published a report on what people watched on the platform over a six month period and it shows a growing demand for non-English content.
ADVERTISEMENTWhat did you binge most on Netflix this year?
For the majority of people around the world, it was The Night Agent, a political thriller series with more than 812 million hours of total watch time. This makes it the streaming platform's most viewed show in the first half of this year, according to a new study.
'What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report' is the first time Netflix has released viewership data, having previously been criticised for a lack of transparency over performance numbers.
Data transparency was also a key part of the recent Hollywood strikes, which froze much of the entertainment industry as actors and writers demanded, among other things, to know how well their content was doing, asking for higher royalties accordingly.
The viewership figures had previously been kept secret to maintain an advantage over competitors, explained Ted Sarandos, the co-chief executive of Netflix, during a press conference call. However, he also acknowledged that this has led to distrust amongst creators.
The platform's introduction of an advertising tier has also made it more important for brands to know how often certain films and TV shows are being watched.
"This is a big step forward for Netflix and our industry," the company wrote in a blog post.
"We believe the viewing information in this report — combined with our weekly Top 10 and Most Popular lists — will give creators and our industry deeper insights into our audiences, and what resonates with them."
What did we watch most?
TV shows triumph.
While The Night Agent, a series about an FBI Agent that becomes involved in a governmental conspiracy, topped the list, season 2 of comedy-drama Ginny & Georgia came in second with 665 million hours of view time.
Korean drama The Glory was third with over 622 million hours, while the hugely successful Addams family spin-off Wednesday followed with 507 million hours, proving its enduring popularity having been released in November of last year.
When it comes to films, action thriller The Mother came out on top, with a watch time of more than 249 million hours.
The viewing data, which covers 99% of the streaming platform's catalogue over a six month period, shows that original content made up 55 per cent of the figures and licensed content 45 per cent. Despite this, Netflix highlights in their blog post that there is still clear demand for older, licensed titles.
They also noted the enthusiasm for non-English stories, which generated a third of all views.
"Success on Netflix comes in all shapes and sizes, and is not determined by hours viewed alone. We have enormously successful movies and TV shows with both lower and higher hours viewed. It’s all about whether a movie or TV show thrilled its audience — and the size of that audience relative to the economics of the title," the company wrote.
Earlier this year, Netflix implemented stricter rules around password sharing, limiting shared accounts to individuals within one household. They also announced the introduction of a tier system, featuring adverts on the lower subscription level.
These changes followed the company's announcement in 2022 that their subscriber numbers had fallen for the first time in a decade, leading to the departure of co-founder Reed Hastings as chief executive in January.
Despite these challenges, Netflix is now the largest streaming service in the world with almost 250 million subscribers globally.
