People Like Netflix's Original Content More Than Its Other Content: AllFlicks (allflicks.net)

According to a study by IHS Markit this month, in the last two years Netflix's spending on original content rose from $2.38 billion to $4.91 billion. The company has invested big in original programming -- and it looks to be paying off. The folks over at AllFlicks have found that Netflix's subscriber base prefers Netflix's original content to that of its syndicated content. AllFlicks reports: Netflix user ratings show that Netflix's subscriber base prefers Netflix's original content to its syndicated content. Netflix originals sport an average rating of 3.85 stars out of five; all other content averages 3.47 stars. That means that user ratings for Netflix originals are 11% higher, on average, than user ratings for syndicated content. Netflix does best in the documentaries category, where users rate non-original content, on average, at 3.54. Netflix's documentaries average 4.07 stars, a pretty impressive showing. Netflix's TV shows do the worst, but still edge their other TV show content by 5.7%. It's possible that the frequent reviewers among Netflix's user base differ from the user base as a whole, but there's not a lot of reason to doubt the raw data here. The Netflix originals and non-originals were both reviewed on the same service and using the same rating system, yet originals consistently outperformed the rest of the content.

Comments

of course the do!

[wierd_w]

Netflix has been on the recieving end of a concerted effort to kill it by the big media players, because they dont like the disruptive marketing model that netflix represents. that is why these media giants have categorically denied access to recent media offers, and keep hogtieing netflix in licensing disputes and changes.

Netflix knows exactly what people want, because even though they cannot stream the titles people want (because of the previously mentioned chicannery) they still record the search terms and frequency. knowing exactly what people want lets them make desirable original media, and turn the tables on the big media giants.

why else do you think ATT feels it needs to buy Time Warner on the auspices of "remaining competative", than to become the single largest media giant AND ISP, if not to cripple Netflix by strangling it for access to customers?

i mean, seriously.

Re:of course the do!

[nine-times]

Netflix knows exactly what people want

Also, they're in a position to care about what the viewers want. The TV networks, meanwhile, are built to care much more about what advertisers and their clients want.

You might expect it's the same thing, since advertisers will want whatever people will watch. However, there are some subtle differences that have big effects. For example, they don't like controversy, so while they're trying to get a big audience, they're also making sure they don't ruffle anyone's feathers. If they're trying to get Walmart or Chick-fil-a advertising money, then there'd better not be anything in the show that could be considered anti-Christian or pro-homosexuality.

There's also a tendency to look for shows that will hit certain demographics who are thought to be likely to buy specific kinds of products. So, for example, a children's show might get cancelled in spite of critical acclaim and high viewership, if it turns out that kids aren't buying the toys and merchandise associated with that show. Two shows with similar budgets and viewerships might have very different fates, depending on whether the viewing demographics are expected to have a lot of disposable income, or to correlate with products that the advertisers want to sell. So networks are going to focus on making teenager shows to market Clearasil, and they need old-man shows to market Viagra. If you're their target demographic that's considered a desirable market, then they're not particularly trying to make shows for you.

There's also another similar problem that that Netflix avoids by having an on-demand viewing model, as opposed to having shows compete for a time slot. On network TV, a show might be making enough money in order to pay for production and make a profit, but it might still be cancelled if a network thinks that another program would make more money in that time slot. This was one of the rumored reasons for the cancellation of both Firefly and Farscape, for example.

All of this is why you see a lot of cheap reality TV that appeals to the lowest common denominator. It doesn't much matter whether the show is good or whether there's a substantial audience on the edge of their seat waiting for the next episode. Networks are just looking for cheap, uncontroversial programs that will make it easy to sell advertising.

Different demographic?

[somenickname]

I think Netflix makes some of the best shows out there. Sometimes they buy existing franchises and breath some fresh air into them and other times they come up with properly original stuff. In either case, I think it's frequently aimed at a different demographic than "traditional TV": Netflix is in the unique position to create a 10-12 hour *movie*. And people will watch that movie over the course of a few days so, they can make it a complex and coherent story that spans 10-12 hours.

They don't need to worry about fitting content into a 42 minute block with 18 minutes of ads. They don't need to worry about if some subtle thing from two months ago is going to be lost on their audience. They don't need to worry about meeting some crazy standard of language/nudity. They don't need to worry about the regional licensing burdens that non-original content carries.

Basically, Netflix shows are good because they can make a complete season and release it in a 10-12 hour movie format to the entire world simultaneously. People *want* that. They will pay for it. Contrast that to a cable company: Customers have already paid some ever increasing amount of money to a cable company and they still have to watch 18 minutes of ads for every 42 minutes of television? Bullshit. Gone are the days of a mindless 30 minute or 60 minute TV show that is just a smokescreen for advertising money. In the modern age, people want literature on their TV and ads are completely unacceptable because frankly, I've already paid for the content.

Re:But what about "its other content"?

[somenickname]

The "original content" is very far from Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad or The Wire. The more it goes, I feel Netflix becomes the Mac Donald's of TV. You go to Mac Donald's to eat something edible, not something great.

You're comparing Netflix original content to the best TV shows that have ever been made. No, they don't compare to Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad or The Wire. Neither does anything else. But, the Netflix shows get closer to it than the *vast* majority of garbage that you'll get from your $100/month cable subscription.