Why Netflix Is Changing Its Viewership Metric Following ‘Squid Game’s’ Success

Netflix is making a big change in how it publicly reveals viewership data following the success of “Squid Game.”

The streaming giant released its quarterly earnings report Tuesday where it once again acknowledged the success of the Korean-language TV show before announcing its move to change the way it gauges viewing data of its shows and movies.

In its letter to shareholders, Netflix stated that instead of the two-minute view metric it has been using, it will now report the total number of hours subscribers watched a show within 28 days of its release, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In doing so, the streamer will have a better means of measuring the success of any content it puts out.

“We think engagement as measured by hours viewed is a slightly better indicator of the overall success of our titles and member satisfaction. It also matches how outside services measure TV viewing and gives proper credit to rewatching,” Netflix was quoted as saying by THR in its letter.

The announcement comes after the streaming giant noticed a jump in its subscription numbers in the third quarter, which was mainly thanks to the growth of its members in the Asia-Pacific region.

Netflix reportedly added 4.4 million new subscribers in the third quarter, raising its total number of paid subscribers to 214 million. The figure surpassed what was projected in the previous quarter which was 3.5 million.

Aside from the increment in its paid subscriptions, Netflix also made a lot of money from its newer releases, especially from “Squid Game,” which generated $891.1 million in impact value despite only having a production budget of $21.4 million, Bloomberg reported last week.

“Squid Game” is currently the most viewed content on the platform, after accumulating about 142 million views in the first 28 days of its release. Chris Hemsworth’s “Extraction” came second with 99 million views, while “Bridgerton” secured the third spot with 82 million views.