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Netflix last month said that it will change the metrics used to rank the most popular titles on its platform. The company launched a new website where it will list the top titles using the new metrics. The new, “Top 10 on Netflix” website offers a global charting of the most popular movies and shows on the platform in four different categories: Films (English), Films (Non-English), TV (English), and TV (Non-English). Additionally, Netflix will also provide country-wise rankings for over 90 countries. All rankings will be based on the total number of hours viewed.
Earlier, Netflix evaluated the popularity of movies and shows based on the completion of the first two minutes of a title within the first 28 days of its release on the platform. The system had the potential to misrepresent the true popularity of a film or series. The streaming giant would count it as a view even if someone doesn’t watch a title beyond two minutes because they didn’t like it. Moreover, if someone rewatches the same title multiple times because they loved it, Netflix wouldn’t consider this while ranking it. The company is now shifting away from this arguably inefficient system of ranking.
“Having looked at the different options, we believe engagement, as measured by hours viewed, is a strong indicator of a title’s popularity,” Netflix said in a press release. “In addition, hours viewed mirrors the way third parties measure popularity, encompasses rewatch (a strong sign of member joy), and can be consistently measured across different companies.”
Under the new system, Netflix will update the popularity charts weekly. It will track the viewership of a title Monday through Sunday and accordingly update the charts on Tuesday. The streaming giant will also tell the number of weeks a title has spent on the chart.
Netflix launches weekly top 10 lists of most popular movies and shows
The most recent popularity charts under Netflix’s new metrics feature all the suspected names. We have the star-studded Red Notice up top Films (English) chart. The film was watched for a whopping 148.72 million hours during the period between November 8 to 14. The other nine films in the top 10 list were watched for a combined 162.65 hours.
Italian film Yara topped the Films (Non-English) chart over the past week with total viewing hours of 17.95 million. Narcos: Mexico: Season 3 is the most viewed English show while Squid Game: Season 1 tops the chart for the most-popular non-English shows on Netflix. Unsurprisingly, Red Notice and Narcos: Mexico: Season 3 top the US charts for films and shows respectively. You can check out all the charts on the “Top 10 on Netflix” website here.