Tuesday, April 28, 2015

What's More Telling, the Ratings or the Platform?

This morning, Variety released stats compiled by Luth Research, a firm based in San Diego that has been compiling Netflix viewing data as a means of finally trying to crack those mysterious viewer numbers.



The data collected through Luth is composed of a sample of 2,500 subscribers who view access through computers, tablets, or smartphones. This data does not (yet) include TV viewing.

Not only are the numbers themselves of interest, but this choice in sampling is also telling of how current research views the future of viewing. Does Luth Research miss out on a large group by ignoring the television's connection to Netflix altogether?

Check out the stats here:  http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/netflix-originals-viewer-data-1201480234/

2 comments:

  1. I love that we finally have numbers for Netflix shows, but why are they given in such a different way from Nielson ratings? Why make it more confusing and put up more walls to make direct comparisons difficult?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think this is because Netflix wants to keep this information as close to its chest as possible. The more closely they control the statistics on consumption and demographics, the farther they can stay ahead of the curve with regard to what the average television viewer wants, especially because Nielsen ratings are borderline useless in determining the popularity of a show now...

      Delete