Netflix's updated standard for what constitutes a 'view' is renewing the contentious debate about viewership measurements across the digital space.

"Unlike TV, where Nielsen ratings are the only accepted way to measure viewership, viewer measurement varies wildly across the entire digital ecosystem," said eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom. "Netflix's recent changes to how they report viewing will have the effect of inflating their viewership metrics, specifically on new original content which is heavily promoted within their app."

The company wrote in its latest quarterly earnings report on Tuesday that it had lowered the threshold for a view to someone who watched a piece of content for at least two minutes. It began using the metric when calculating its top 2019 list in December.

Previously, Netflix counted a view only if a person watched at least 70 percent of a movie or TV show. The company said it expects the change in policy to bump up its "watched-by" statistics by 35 percent.

"The opening credits often run longer than two minutes, so has a consumer really made a commitment to watch?" said video marketing platform VidMob's chief brand officer Stephanie Bohn. "But, in a world of shrinking attention spans, this measurement approach may be the way to go. We see similarities in digital advertising, where views are recognized after a matter of seconds, which has dramatically changed the way ads are designed."

The definition of what constitutes a view varies across platforms. Facebook and Instagram's standard is just three seconds, though, arguably, their content is generally much shorter than a standard episode. Snapchat starts counting a view as soon as the video appears on the screen, but its content takes over the whole screen whereas Facebook videos could appear alongside other written content. YouTube charges marketers for its TrueView in-stream ads only if the viewer watches at least 30 seconds of a video.

"Advertisers and their agencies are looking for clarity when evaluating core metrics across platforms and devices — they want consistency and independent, third-party measurement," said consulting group Ebiquity's managing director of North America Jed Meyer. "This move by Netflix potentially creates more confusion and complexity in the market – the opposite of what clients are looking for."

Netflix is in a unique situation because it does not allow for commercials, Tal Chalozin,chief technology officer of the video marketing platform Innovid, pointed out. It doesn't need advertising dollars to fund its shows, so it operates in a closed ecosystem using its own private data when deciding whether to renew or cancel shows. In the grand scheme of things, the streaming network's change in metrics doesn't mean anything to advertisers — it may just help their content seem more appealing.

"The real question is how are they optimizing their discovery engine," Chalozin said. "This is where the methodology is super important. How will it value content that is super flashy by giving it marketing dollars?"

Although there isn't an industry standard, Netflix's new measurement standard does make it harder to compare the platform's viewership with more traditional media when trying to determine success. For example, using the two-minute metric, the company said "The Irishman" was viewed 26 million times in its opening week. That would be hard to align with box office ticket sales from the same weekend because people who trekked to the movie theater likely went with the intention of seeing the film, rather than those who stayed home, decided to check it out, with some ultimately opting to not watch it after a few minutes. Although, on the flip side, one could argue some people may have purchased box office tickets for a movie but didn't actually go.

"Metrics should answer a question, and if your question is whether or not someone liked a program, I think this metric is disingenuous," said advertising and media agency Walrus' head of media Ryan Gordon. "As a media buyer, this doesn't impact me directly, but if I was l looking for product placement partners or [to] understand content trends, I think it's damaging. It reduces clarity in an already opaque media channel, and it's a disservice to those looking to better understand consumer viewing behavior."

Share:
More In Business
Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Load More