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Request TV shows or movies (help.netflix.com)
32 points by arunmib 2900 days ago
10 comments

i'm sure they already track searches for shows/movies, and isn't that a far better indicator for demand?

less clouded by the noise of some "digital influencer" posting a tweet that says "go here and request xyz!" and throwing your metrics way off sync.

You're assuming the point of this page is to actually gather data and not just to avoid "please get show X" or "how do I submit show requests?" support requests that are costly to field with human support.

My guess would be they don't outright throw the data away, but it is probably just used as one (very weak) signal in the complex show selection process.

Or have a link at the top of search results for something like "not finding what you want?" or similar so that suggestions can be provided at the time of searching instead of having to context switch to a different help page.
When did this page get launched?

This reminds me of CouchPotato[0], but for Netflix.

[0] https://couchpota.to/

Wayback machine has the oldest snapshot from 16th Sep 2016 - https://web.archive.org/web/20160916051848/https://help.netf...
This brings to mind an annoyance about Netflix.

If you search for something they don't have, they won't admit that. They give you search results as if you asked for random crap in what their AI thinks is an appropriate genre (in reality, they just span you with what they want you to watch, e.g. paid promotions and Netflix properties).

I was looking for "Elementary" episodes. I got a cluttered page back full of crap without a single Elementary episode or a simple statement to the effect that "We don't carry Elementary episodes".

I'd never pay for Netflix. I get it free from T-Mobile.

Not your main point at all, but Hulu has Elementary episodes if you can get access to Hulu.
Firefly season 2
Instead of filling out that form I'm going to search the many other streaming services available. And if I still don't find it, I'm not going to fill out a request form for each service. Perhaps Netflix could interpret users' searches as signals of interest.
It would be helpful to have a voting system, list all the requested title and allow subscribers to vote, with both up and down votes.
I thought that was what the "saved" section on my dvd queue was for.
Youth Hostelling With Chris Eubank
The Andy Milonakis Show
In other news, Netflix is killing written user-submitted reviews of movies and TV shows [1]. The assault on freedom of expression continues unabated.

[1] https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-is-removing-online-reviews...