THE ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE IS EVOLVING

NETWORK TELEVISION IS BEING CHALLENGED

Netflix leads a category that has seen a lot of change over the last two decades. The on-demand, binge-watching model of streaming services disrupted traditional TV in a way many networks didn’t see coming. 

INTERNET TV STRUGGLES TO DIFFERENTIATE FROM EACH OTHER

Everyone from Netflix to Hulu to Amazon is creating quality, award-nominated entertainment. People rarely limit their input to just one streaming service. They’re tuned into multiple and are exploring the range of content each service has to offer. As streaming services continue to grow and expand their capabilities, the competition amongst each other has become stronger than ever.

ATTENTION IS SPREAD THIN 

In addition to competing with other streaming services, Netflix is also fighting for attention with social media. People are getting lost in their social feeds, spending an average of 5 hours a day scrolling on their phones. Social media’s heavy investment in mobile video and quick, entertaining content is propelled by people checking their phones up to 17 times a day – often while doing something else.

MULTITASKING IS NOTHING NEW

Over 80% of people are using a second screen while watching TV – with a significant amount of this distraction being attributed to scrolling through social media sites. 

DUAL SCREENING IS CHANGING HOW WE WATCH

When people are using a second screen while watching TV, 41% of their time is spent looking at content online that is related to what they’re watching, posting online about what they’re watching, or talking to friends online and discussing what they're watching. Dual screening is also serving a dual purpose – it is an extension of how people are engaging with content and how watching TV is a social activity, even if you're physically alone.

TARGET: 
SOCIAL WATCHERS

People who are talking about what shows and movies they watch. They take to social media to share, discuss, and connect with others.

Sharing Account Login Info

30% of Netflix users share their login information, keeping Netflix from collecting subscription fees from many of their viewers and distorting user behavior data.

Hacking The Algorthims

For a better experience, social watchers will create multiple profiles based on different moods on their account or seek out intensely specific URL codes to find hidden categories on the platform. 

Multitasking

Social watchers are often using a secondary device to browse the Internet, text their friends, or post on social media while they watch TV.

Using 3rd Party Plug-Ins

Netflix Party and Watch With Me are Google Chrome extensions used to sync what you’re watching with someone else who’s watching remotely. Flixtape is a tool which allows social watchers to make curated playlists of Netflix content.

ENTERTAINMENT LITERATE
They treat content curation as a hobby. They’re pop culture investigators who spend a lot of time exploring new shows, movies, and music – they take pride in their discoveries and are excited to share what they find with friends.

TREND CHASERS
They trust their entertainment literate friends over what Netflix recommends they may like to watch. They have their go-to sources to see what’s popular but don’t spend the extra time to discover it for themselves.

BLISSFULLY UNAWARE
They’ll passively engage with popular content, but without the same sense of urgency as their trend chasing and entertainment literate friends. However they always take their friends recommendations into account when searching for something new to watch.

NETFLIX EXCHANGE

The Innovation

A feature within the Netflix app that enables social watchers to engage with their friends and talk while they watch. 
 

CAPABILITIES

1. Look back at conversations between you and your friends on the Netflix Exchange, within the Netflix app.
   

2. Comment on shows in real time.
   

3. Discover what else your friends are watching.

Meme Generator
A feature that allows people to create and share memes from their favorite scenes or in reaction to an unexpected plot twist.

Playlists
A feature that allows groups to create and curate their own watchlists together.
 

Highlight Reels
A feature that creates personalized highlight reels from what people are watching – which will be pushed out to users as a reminder to come back for the next season.

Netflix is able to leverage dual screening behaviors to bring people back to the Netflix platform.

Users have an incentive to check in with Netflix more often.

Discourages sharing account logins and gives Netflix more data access to understand the conversations around their content.