As Netflix offers more to watch, it tracks how we watch
Service is dissecting viewers’ binge breaks
Netflix is continuing its quest to dominate television.
With 87 million subscribers in 190 territories, it has 30 series in production or development, and next year it plans to double — to 1,000 hours — the amount of original programming, chief content officer Ted Sarandos said at the UBS Global Media conference Monday.
Its next frontier: more unscripted programming, with 20 new shows such as Ultimate
Beastmaster, an obstacle-course competition series (think Ameri
can Ninja Warrior) featuring contestants and announcers from six countries.
Exclusive series are the streaming service’s top priority. Netflix is often criticized for its sometimes moldy selection of theatrical movies, but Sarandos says they still represent 30% of the service’s total viewing, even with this year’s addition of Disney titles, which are bypassing the typical pay-cable stop.
But how do subscribers actually watch? In new data shared with USA TODAY, Netflix says 59% of its members — or about 51 million — take a break, usually lasting two to three days, after finishing an original series before they dive into a new one.
And 61% of those who do pause weave a stand-alone film or stand-up special between those series binges, often choosing likeminded titles. So, for example, fans of the whimsical Gilmore Girls and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt are more apt to follow them with titles such as The Princess Bride and Sixteen Can
dles, while Stranger Things viewers opt for Disney’s Zootopia. Viewers of Narcos or Breaking Bad go for similarly edgy Pulp Fiction, and watchers of Orange Is
the New Black and Bloodline tend to watch Spotlight. (The research is based on worldwide trends from January to October.)
Netflix has a more “dispassionate audience” of movie fans, says Sarandos, who views Netflix’s original films with Kevin James and Adam Sandler as popular if unexceptional “comfort-food comedy.” But expanding its film slate to more ambitious fare may achieve a loftier goal. He expects
Bright, an upcoming feature shrouded in mystery that marks a new collaboration between Sui
cide Squad star Will Smith and director David Ayer, to launch a new film franchise.
“Can those films be subscription drivers the way series are?” he asks.
Meanwhile, upcoming series hint at Netflix’s broadening slate: a second season of Fuller House (available Friday); Chasing Camer
on (Dec. 27), a reality series that follows Internet star Cameron Dallas; Lemony Snicket’s A Series
of Unfortunate Events (Jan. 13); new episodes of kids series Vol
tron: Legendary Defender (Jan. 20); Santa Clarita Diet (Feb. 3), a new comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as married Realtors; and the next Marvel series, Iron Fist (March 17).
Says Sarandos, “We’re trying to make sure we have something for everyone in the house.”