[j2kun]

It is worth noting that the Netflix Prize winner's solution was never meaningfully used, because Netflix pivoted from ranking content based on what you tell them you like to ranking content based on clicks and minutes watched.

To say that "we have solved ranking" because Netflix decided to measure shallow metrics and addiction is... specious at best. Instead the tech industry (in all media domains, not just streaming video) replaced improving platforms and services in meaningful ways with surveillance and revenue extraction.

[gizzlon]

> ranking content based on clicks and minutes watched.

I suspect they just push what they want you to watch, like their own content. Seems that way to me at least, based on their quite shitty "recommendations"

[mochomocha]

> I suspect they just push what they want you to watch, like their own content.

Having worked close to the recsys folks at Netflix, I can tell you that this statement couldn't be further from the truth.

[ricardobeat]

I noticed that for the last few years, my recommendations are almost the same for every category. 'Top picks' is 60% the same as 'We think you'll love this' which is almost the same as 'Your Next Watch' which is similar to 'Award-winning movies', 'Chilly thrillers', repeat ad-infinitum. If there is a new Netflix-owned movie it will definitely be in there.

Then on top of that, similar to YouTube, half of that content are things I have already watched. HBO and Amazon are even worse in this aspect but it just drives me crazy, feels like seeing the same 100 movie options over and over for months. Has the catalog shrinked that much over the years?

I started keeping a separate list of films to watch on IMDB, but 6/10 times they are not available on any service except for rent in AppleTV.

[chrz]

i have no idea how to even display a complete list of movies

[Implicated]

On the native interface(s), surely, you can't.

[crooked-v]

I have a difficult time trusting their recommendations when those come along with more and more difficult to even know what exists in the rest of the catalog. It seems pretty obvious they want de facto scroll feeds instead of the streaming style they started with.

[supportengineer]

I also have some firsthand knowledge here and I can assure you that promo-driven culture will not result in optimization for the consumer.

[dmurray]

Why do they care what you watch? I expect they pay a flat fee to license content (if not, how is that policed?) so the marginal cost to them is the same no matter what you watch.

I'd guess they push you to their content for the same reason they make that content in the first place: they believe you'll like it and keep watching it.

Ad placement is one wrinkle that would incentivize promoting their own content, but I don't get the impression that's big enough to make the difference at the margins.

[derektank]

>I expect they pay a flat fee to license content

I wouldn't tbh, though I'll admit I'm speculating solely on public information. During the 2023 strikes, SAG-AFTRA and the WGA negotiated additional residuals based upon whether 20% of the streaming services subscriber base viewed the content within 90 days of release.[1] So, streaming platforms are evidently willing to share subscriber viewership data with 3rd parties if it's a contractual requirement.

I would be surprised if content licensors haven't negotiated an as good or better deal for themselves.

[1] https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-aftra-streaming-bonus-...

[chucksmash]

If you mostly use Netflix to watch licensed content, you're more likely to cancel when all the licensed content is removed from the catalog.

If they successfully steer you towards Netflix produced content, you're less sensitive to what happens to the licensed content.

[fragmede]

The story I heard about most Netflix content going for very long is that after two seasons a show's cast unionizes and they didn't want to pay up and they'd rather cancel shows, which seems awful penny-wise pound foolish of them.

[alsetmusic]

> which seems awful penny-wise pound foolish of them.

On one of the podcasts that I listen to, which has given me many great recommends, one of the hosts has given up watching content until it hits three or four seasons because of exactly this.

[jrowen]

If people are watching their content, they can rely less on licensed content and drive those costs down. It's a similar value prop to any vertical integration.

[virtue3]

I think they also used their metrics to figure out people liked kevin spacey (whoops) - and created house of cards - which catapulted netflix's production side.

https://medium.com/@danial.a/how-netflix-used-data-to-create...