SHOW, BUSINESS
Netflix  and its streaming brethren have utterly revolutionized our TV- and movie-watching habits. There’s no going back: THIS IS HOW WE LIVE NOW.
But . . . exactly what  does that mean? Where are the hard facts that undergird this whole enterprise?
NETFLIX AND DON’T CHILL
The NYT does a great job of breaking down the sitch:
In the five years since Netflix started streaming original series like the Emmy-winning “House of Cards†and “Master of None,†the shows have had a question hanging over them: How many people are watching? Outside of Netflix, nobody knows the answer.
That’s because, much to the frustration of those in the industry who would like to have a firm idea of just how popular those shows are, the streaming services — Amazon and Hulu included — have been fiercely protective of their numbers. Now, Nielsen, the 94-year-old company that for decades has had an effective monopoly on measuring television ratings in the United States, has announced that it has found a way into the great unknown of Netflix viewership.
Ok, not that kind of Nielsen rating.
The Times continues:
The move, however, is a step toward finding a reliable third-party ratings system for streaming services. “The important part of this is it provides transparency for an environment that has been pretty much a blind spot for the studios and broadcasters,†said Megan Clarken, the president of Nielsen’s so-called Watch division.
The company said it was able to determine how many viewers were streaming Netflix content through audio recognition software in the 44,000 Nielsen-rated homes across the United States.Nielsen has been releasing its Netflix data privately to media companies that have subscribed to the service, including the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, NBCUniversal and A&E Networks.
Nielsen executives said that those companies would now have the ability to access viewership figures for shows they licensed to Netflix, like “Friends†from Warner Bros., as well as originals like “Orange Is the New Black†and “Stranger Things.â€
NUMBERS GAME
So, depending on what these audience figures show, the whole streaming game might get a li’l shake-up. Or not. But you will be counted.
09:01
