Netflix has released detailed viewership data for the period spanning January to June 2023, a milestone for the streaming giant.
Titled “What We Watched: A Netflix Report,” the document meticulously catalogs 18,214 titles, representing 99% of Netflix’s extensive catalogue. The data is based on hours viewed, encompassing both original and licensed content, with a particular focus on titles watched for over 50,000 hours, rounded to the nearest 100,000.
Examining the released data, the action thriller “The Night Agent” emerged as Netflix’s most popular title in the first half of 2023, accumulating 812,100,000 hours of viewership. Notably, African titles, particularly South African productions, have demonstrated substantial viewership, with “Unseen” and “Shanty Town” leading the charge.
However, Kenya’s performance in the Netflix landscape seems mixed, with only three titles crossing the six-figure mark in terms of hours viewed. Notably, Tosh Gitonga’s “Disconnect: The Wedding Planner,” a January 2023 release, stands out with 7,400,000 hours. Collaboration efforts like “Married to Work” and “Country Queen” also garnered viewership, albeit to a lesser extent.
Factors such as global release strategies significantly influenced viewership numbers. Unlike their South African and Nigerian counterparts, most Kenyan titles did not enjoy global releases. Distribution rights agreements, as seen with “Country Queen,” may also impact accessibility in certain markets, contributing to variations in viewership.
This transparent initiative, set to be released semi-annually, signifies a significant departure from Netflix’s historical approach. In 2021, the streaming platform shifted from account-based metrics to hours viewed, deeming it a more accurate indicator of overall success and member satisfaction. Furthermore, since June 2023, Netflix has incorporated the “views” metric, calculated as total hours viewed divided by runtime, influencing its weekly top 10 and Most Popular lists.
