This is not a good comparison, because except in very few cases, the audience of a pilot is not the general public. In fact, the general public will never have

This is not a good comparison, because except in very few cases, the audience of a pilot is not the general public. In fact, the general public will never have the chance to see the pilot unless it's picked up, and in that case they'll still have to wait until the entire season is filmed. By contrast, Netflix uses the viewership ratings from the first season to determine whether to renew for a second season.