We’ve already seen a little more transparency enter the wider streaming environment in the last few years. However, we’ve now been promised even more data freedom in the coming years by Netflix’s Ted Sarandos. Brandon Blake, our entertainment attorney from Blake & Wang P.A., has the details.
Promise to Creative Partners
The lack of transparency around key data metrics from many tech companies has been a talking point of note in recent years. For Netflix specifically, we now have the weekly Top 10 lists of best-performing movies and series, and Disney+ allows some data out of the vault, but most of their viewing data is still kept carefully under lock and key.
This has proven exasperating for many other players on the entertainment scene, from those who collect residuals and companies like Nielsen right through to Wall Street itself. For Netflix, at least according to Sarandos, this was part of a promise to their ‘creative partners’ hoping to escape the implied judgment from the overnight ratings world on new properties. Now, however, change is coming.
A Strike Talking Point
Interestingly, greater data transparency was one of the key new terms in the recently ratified WGA contract. Here, we specifically saw them wanting clarification of what a ‘view’ is (for residual calculation). It’s also one of the sticking points in the current SAG-AFTRA/AMPTP negotiations.
Perhaps more relevant to Netflix’s change in policy, however, is the fact ratings data is of most use to advertisers. Until now, Netflix has had no ad-revenue-based tier to cater to. Now it does- and that data is going to matter more than ever. Buyers want to see a return on their investment, after all.
Whether you credit the change to the now-mainstream role streaming has taken in the entertainment landscape or a more mercenary need to cater to advertisers and people in the creative funnel, one thing is for sure- greater data transparency from one of the key players in the streaming scene is sure to be widely welcomed. It will be interesting to see if others follow Netflix’s example.
