Netflix could soon remove a popular feature from its streaming platform that might affect what content users decide what to watch.
The company is set to remove the match percentage shown on titles, which are based on an algorithm that references previous shows and movies viewers have watched.
This option is being replaced by tags for recommendations because of their ability to more accurately describe the titles.
A Netflix spokesperson explained to Dailymail.com that tagging is not the sole feature that contributes to how a viewer decides what they want to watch.
Instead, the company relies on the combined efforts of box art, the synopsis and the trailer – in addition to tags, to reel in viewers.
Netflix is removing its percentage match feature, although the company has not confirmed when it will disappear
The company decided to drop the match percentage because it likely confused viewers who may question how the algorithm determined a title was a 92 percent match and wouldn’t understand how Netflix arrived at that conclusion.
Netflix told DailyMai.com that it doesn’t currently have a timeframe for when it will drop its match feature.
Tags separate content by categories including ‘award-winning directors,’ ‘medical TV shows,’ ‘feel-good dramas,’ and ‘period pieces,’ among others.
Netflix also uses them as descriptors, identifying a show as ‘soapy, and emotional,’ ‘campy and quirky,’ or ‘suspenseful and visually striking.’
Netflix Director of Products Allan Donald told The New York Times that tags are like ‘cover lines’ in a magazine,
‘Imagine magazines that have no cover lines, and there were just photographs on them,’ Donald said.
‘Tags make as much of a difference as a cover line in that snap ‘this is for me’ decision.’
Netflix is moving to rely on tags in addition to box art, synopsis, and trailers to recommend content
Netflix’s algorithm recommends movies and TV shows based on past content viewed
He also noted that while testing the elimination of tags, ‘people would take much longer to choose.’
‘They would drop out of a title because they didn’t like it too much or because they didn’t know what they were getting,’ Donald explained.
Netflix reportedly has a team of 30 people called taggers, who select two or three tags to help viewers select a show or film that aligns with their preferences, according to The Times.
Typically, viewers will view a title for only a minute before moving on, according to Netflix, which found that when they temporarily tested dropping tags, viewer engagement significantly dropped.
This is not to say that tags are fully responsible for viewer engagement, but are more likely a major contributing factor.
‘If you’re on the fence with a title and you’re like, ‘OK, the box art looks catchy, and it’s popular, so everyone’s watching it — but is it for me?’ Donald told The Times.
‘And then you’re like, ‘OK, it’s suspenseful — yes, this is for me.’ That’s what made you go click,’ he added.
The company’s decision adds on to other feature changes including the option to remove other users from their accounts without having to change their password.
It also added the My Netflix feature last year that allows viewers to access all the movies and TV shows they want to watch in one place.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk