Netflix is using its own subscribers as focus groups for upcoming new content. According to Variety, the streamer has been reaching out to small groups of subscribers and inviting them to watch unreleased content, after which they’ll reply with feedback in a panel.
The feedback panels have reportedly been taking place only in the United States since around May 2021. By tapping into the minds of subscribers, Netflix is able to make edits to movies and TV shows before they’re released to the public.
“We at Netflix are building a community of members to view and give feedback on upcoming movies and series, and we’d like to know if you’re interested in being a part of it,” Netflix reportedly wrote in an email to a group of subscribers, per Variety. “It’s simple, but an incredibly important part of creating best-in-class content for you and Netflix members all around the world.”
Per the same email, Netflix wrote that the subscribers its uses for these panels “represent a range of perspectives.”
Participants in these focus groups are asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement before watching several pieces of new content over the course of approximately six months. After completing each movie or series, they fill out a survey, in the company’s own terms, “to tell us what you liked, what you didn’t, how you’d make it even better, or how likely you’d be to recommend it to friends and family.”
Though the initiative, Netflix can gauge what viewers enjoy or dislike about a given piece of content, as well as if they find anything about the content offensive or insensitive.
In other entertainment news, check out Tatiana Maslany and Mark Ruffalo in the first trailer for Marvel’s She-Hulk.
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