Starting today, your Netflix experience is going to look a little different, thanks to a change the streamer is making to the service so that subscribers can have a better idea of what shows and movies are hot on the service (in your country) from one day to the next.
Netflix is adding a Top 10 row to the service’s design, with that row broken in three categories — movies, shows, and overall. In a company blog post today penned by Netflix director of product innovation Cameron Johnson, the company says that the Top 10 row will be specific to your country. It will also be updated daily, and its position within the layout you see will vary depending on how relevant the shows and movies are to you.
“Shows and films that make these lists will also have a special ‘Top 10’ badge, wherever they appear on Netflix,” the post explains. “That way you can easily see what’s in the zeitgeist, whether you’re browsing by genre or through your personal list — or when searching for specific shows or films.”
Here’s an example of what you’ll see:
Netflix started incrementally releasing Top 10 data last year, part of a move toward greater transparency from the streamer about what people are watching, how much they’re watching, and what’s popular at any given moment in time.
It’s certainly understandable that Netflix would see value in adding features like this. How many of you have opened the app wanting to watch something new but found yourself daunted by the seemingly infinite amount of content to choose from? It might be easier to choose, the thinking goes, if notice that a particular title is the most popular in the US today, especially if it’s one you’ve been meaning to check out.
And, in case you’re wondering, there is currently a “Popular on Netflix” row right now, which is not the same thing as the information this new row is trying to convey.
The new “Top 10” row is just that, simply a rundown of the hottest content on the service. The content it identifies should be the same for everyone, whereas the current “Popular on Netflix” row is actually a look at what’s popular on the streamer right now based on people who have the same or similar tastes as you do. That’s why it’s not a bad idea for Netflix to offer different insights into the most popular content, because you can either take a look at what’s most popular to the masses and what’s most popular to people who make similar choices as you. The end result, though, is the same — more information leads to you deciding to spend more time watching something on Netflix. That’s the streamer’s hope, at any rate.
