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>I find it very obnoxious how the Netflix app for Apple TV autoplays previews of titles when you’re browsing and doesn’t let you disable that behaviour. As a re

by clubm8 8y ago

>I find it very obnoxious how the Netflix app for Apple TV autoplays previews of titles when you’re browsing and doesn’t let you disable that behaviour. As a result I rarely open Netflix except when I already know what I want to watch. I suspect it's a result of poorly done UX research. If you frame the question as "How can we increase engagement with the homescreen", adding noise does increase engagement. Basically the % of people interacting with the home screen increases, but the number of people viewing the home screen decreases. Ironically this means less time spent exploring... Netflix often generates some interesting micro-genres and I used to scroll through a bit looking for things to add to my list - now if I don't have a specific title in mind I don't open Netflix at all. Though I'm not sure I should complain - less mindless watching has lead to me reading more research papers and news. Being more productive.

jm4 8y ago
The whole point is for users to spend less time exploring so they don't realize the selection of decent content is actually quite limited. Netflix doesn't care if people don't like it as long as they keep paying for a subscription. People will complain about this but not cancel the subscription. People will cancel the subscription if there's no content.
- clubm8 8y ago
  >The whole point is for users to spend less time exploring so they don't realize the selection of decent content is actually quite limited. I actually disagree. I think Netflix has several massive troves. For example I recently worked my way through Frasier, then Cheers. There's a lot of hit shows like Star Trek, Friends, Buffy etc. I agree the selection is not perfect, but for me, there's a lot of stuff that I wanted to check out in the 90s but was too lazy to monitor a VCR for. There's also a decent enough amount of original content - Black Miror, Bojack for example, that make me feel I get my money's worth. Maybe it's a generational thing... Netflix has so much more than any Blockbuster. If not Netflix, what service? Who has better selection? Who is their rival. IMHO Netflix is getting better at creating great content - Bojack Horseman for example is superb. They have the name brand recognition. And at the end of the day, the price is right - people can justify 12 bucks a month. IMHO Netflix's rival is not Hulu or Prime Video - it's the local library. Many library systems nowadays offer DVDs and BluRays. Why pay a monthly fee when you can get the same titles from the library as fast as you could. Basically, people may be willing to trade cost for speed. (Heck sometimes I can get things faster from the library than I can from my DVD plan)

by clubm8 8y ago

jm4 8y ago

The whole point is for users to spend less time exploring so they don't realize the selection of decent content is actually quite limited. Netflix doesn't care if people don't like it as long as they keep paying for a subscription. People will complain about this but not cancel the subscription. People will cancel the subscription if there's no content.

clubm8 8y ago
>The whole point is for users to spend less time exploring so they don't realize the selection of decent content is actually quite limited. I actually disagree. I think Netflix has several massive troves. For example I recently worked my way through Frasier, then Cheers. There's a lot of hit shows like Star Trek, Friends, Buffy etc. I agree the selection is not perfect, but for me, there's a lot of stuff that I wanted to check out in the 90s but was too lazy to monitor a VCR for. There's also a decent enough amount of original content - Black Miror, Bojack for example, that make me feel I get my money's worth. Maybe it's a generational thing... Netflix has so much more than any Blockbuster. If not Netflix, what service? Who has better selection? Who is their rival. IMHO Netflix is getting better at creating great content - Bojack Horseman for example is superb. They have the name brand recognition. And at the end of the day, the price is right - people can justify 12 bucks a month. IMHO Netflix's rival is not Hulu or Prime Video - it's the local library. Many library systems nowadays offer DVDs and BluRays. Why pay a monthly fee when you can get the same titles from the library as fast as you could. Basically, people may be willing to trade cost for speed. (Heck sometimes I can get things faster from the library than I can from my DVD plan)