Netflix is rolling out its first major television app revamp in a decade to help users more quickly decide what to watch, aiming to increase engagement and attract subscribers to its new ad-supported plans. The update includes larger title cards, reorganized information, and a new “My Netflix” tab, while maintaining the current recommendation algorithm.
7 June 2024 – Netflix began rolling out a major revamp of its television app on Thursday, marking the first significant update in a decade. This overhaul aims to help viewers more quickly decide what to watch, enhancing user experience and engagement.
The video streaming pioneer seeks to increase the time users spend on the app to retain customers and attract new subscribers to its lower-cost, ad-supported plans. According to company research, users were performing “eye gymnastics,” as Netflix executive Pat Flemming described it, by looking around various parts of the home screen to find an appealing title. “Viewers’ eyes were darting from the row name to today’s top picks, to the box art, to the video, back to the synopsis,” explained Flemming, senior director of member product, in an interview with Reuters. “We wanted to make the interface simpler, more intuitive, and easier to navigate.”
The home page revisions include enlarging title cards, reorganizing information, and highlighting easy-to-read details such as a show or movie’s duration in the top 10. A subset of Netflix’s nearly 270 million global users will experience the new format starting Thursday. The company plans to collect feedback and potentially make further adjustments before a wider release.
Netflix has been emphasizing engagement time as a key metric, considering it the “best proxy for customer satisfaction” and plans to stop regular reporting of subscriber numbers next year to shift Wall Street’s focus. Other changes to the TV app include moving the menu button from the left to the top of the screen and adding a new “My Netflix” tab, which contains shows or movies a user has started watching or saved for later.
Despite these changes, Netflix will continue offering personalized suggestions to each user without altering its recommendation algorithm, Flemming confirmed.
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