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Tech companies play this game as well. This has always been a core part of Netflix's pitch: our recommendations will keep users tied to the platform and also re

Tech companies play this game as well. This has always been a core part of Netflix's pitch: our recommendations will keep users tied to the platform and also reduce the cost to acquire IP as we can always find something the user is interested in. I used to believe their pitch. However, it doesn't seem like it ended up working. People hear about a show and want to watch that specific show. The recommendations only do so much.

pempem 5y ago
Interesting. I would disagree. They've shifted from supremely niche recommendations ("British murder mysteries during wwII") to everyone watching the entirety tiger king within the same 2 wk period and a coarse grain search for british titles not even providing an exhaustive list. If anything they have taken recommendations and remade them in their own image/strategy/goals rather than our personalized watching behavior. Great examples continue to be Bridgerton, the Office which then had a meme-based resurgence, that one with Kevin Spacey, etc.
- thesausageking 5y ago
  You're agreeing with me. When they were serving up niche recommendations it was an intentional business decision. If they could convince people to watch niche things, it reduces their IP costs as those things are cheaper to license and they're also in a stronger bargaining position as they don't need any one specific show. What happened is consumers didn't agree. People wanted to watch the Office, not another feel-good comedy Netflix recommended. That forced Netflix to abandon their original strategy and spend a lot more on content.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  I just think they don't really care. They care about retention, but they've realized that content >> discoverability for that. People will find out about content. What they will not do is watch bad content, no matter how specifically and accurately it speaks to them.

pempem 5y ago

Interesting. I would disagree. They've shifted from supremely niche recommendations ("British murder mysteries during wwII") to everyone watching the entirety tiger king within the same 2 wk period and a coarse grain search for british titles not even providing an exhaustive list. If anything they have taken recommendations and remade them in their own image/strategy/goals rather than our personalized watching behavior. Great examples continue to be Bridgerton, the Office which then had a meme-based resurgence, that one with Kevin Spacey, etc.

thesausageking 5y ago
You're agreeing with me. When they were serving up niche recommendations it was an intentional business decision. If they could convince people to watch niche things, it reduces their IP costs as those things are cheaper to license and they're also in a stronger bargaining position as they don't need any one specific show. What happened is consumers didn't agree. People wanted to watch the Office, not another feel-good comedy Netflix recommended. That forced Netflix to abandon their original strategy and spend a lot more on content.
ethbr0 5y ago
I just think they don't really care. They care about retention, but they've realized that content >> discoverability for that. People will find out about content. What they will not do is watch bad content, no matter how specifically and accurately it speaks to them.