Netflix viewer data takes everyone by surprise with the most viewed shows of 2023

In a surprising and welcome move, Netflix has released the viewership data of almost 18,000 titles viewed across the globe, which consists of about 99 percent of its content. Taking the calculation of viewing from January to June of 2023, the numbers were published in a report titled What We Watched. Although this was a first-of-its-kind report that went public, the company plans to continue releasing bi-yearly reports on viewership.

While about 60 percent of titles from the report were also covered in the Top 10 list that Netflix comes out with, there were some surprises too. Titles like Alice in Borderland, You, and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story were expected, but The Glory, Fake Profile, and The Night Agent surprised everyone with huge viewership. The company reported a significant rise in the viewing of licensed fares.

---

Netflix releases a detailed semi-yearly viewership data

Netflix offers a wide variety of Original and licensed content (Image via Netflix)

Netflix has started the initiative of documenting and releasing the full picture as an alternative to just their top performers. The company plans to help creators and the industry at large understand audiences’ preferences with this document clubbed with the weekly top performers and the Most Popular lists.

The initiative comes in the wake of the resolution of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, where one of the negotiation points was the lack of transparency of streaming platforms. The common belief has been that all viewership data is locked in a “black box” available only to the company. The companies exploit the data to increase profitability and subscriber counts.

While Netflix has volunteered to publish its Top 10 list starting in 2021, its viewership data is also accessible to Neilson’s weekly counts, an independent body. Co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, said at a press call that marketers trust numbers that third parties have verified.

However, Sarandos insisted that the initiative of releasing the data was not aimed at appeasing ad buyers. He reflected on how lack of transparency built mistrust from the press, the producers, and the creators. The company aims to clear this atmosphere of mistrust in the present scenario when information about the performance of other parts of media is accessible to all.

As per the report, The Night Agent ranked at the top of the list with 812.1 million hours of viewing, followed by titles such as The Diplomat, The Glory, Beef, FUBAR, Alpha Males, and Fake Profile. Film sequels Extraction 2 and Murder Mystery 2 also fared high on the list. Well-known titles from among the channel originals were Ginny & Georgia, Alice in Borderland, Outer Banks, The Marked Heart, Queen Charlotte, You, and XO Kitty.

---

What methodology has the streaming giant used in its data calculation?

The company has included titles based on the number of hours of viewing. The report included all titles with a minimum of 50,000 hours of viewership in a period of six months, including originals and licensed titles. As such, subscribers move towards hits, leading to common titles in the report and the weekly favorites.

While the report used viewing hours as the metric for ranking, the company does not use the same methodology for its Most Popular or Top 10 lists. In the latter, the calculation uses the formula of hours viewed divided by runtime. The Hollywood strikers also used this formula in calculating their bonuses in the latest contracts.

However, there is a downside to measuring in hours. It favors longer runtime, which mostly covers drama series and daily soaps. Movies face a disadvantage with this method. Hours-based data does not clarify completed titles or engage after the first episode.

While licensed titles cover 45 percent of the total viewings, the company does not believe in any formula for it. Netflix claims to strive to entertain viewers from around the world. As such, it is one of the leaders in the streaming companies and has a better performance than other companies coming into the business later. This is reflected in the popularity of Netflix Originals versus licensed content.