The Age of Netflix

by Cory Barker

  The essay primarily relies on qualitative research consisting of 12 interviews with UK Netflix users conducted between late 2014 and 2015. Linking broadcasting with online television, I juxtapose these interviews with older findings from quantitative and qualitative research on early Sky Digital subscribers conducted in the early 2000s. Netflix and Sky Digital were released to the public at different points in time and present different technological platforms and distinct ranges of content. Yet, the two platforms still share important qualities—including increased consumer choice and customized, targeted content offerings—and, notwithstanding modern audience practices, produce similar perceptions and habits among users. As such, this essay demonstrates how certain consumption patterns and preferences persevere over time, and that shifts in audience behavior always co-exist with continuity. Change does not happen swiftly; rather, it is iterative and progressive in nature. In other words, technological knowledge, invention and innovation, and the use of new technologies all develop in “path dependent” ways.2 While they are rooted in the embrace of new practices and in our changing social and life circumstances, they are also based in past practices and experience.

  Netflix and Sky Digital’s Affordances and Adoption in the United Kingdom

  Netflix launched in the United Kingdom in January 2012. According to research from Ofcom, one in ten households had a subscription by the end of 2014.3 This signals that Netflix is at the early adoption stage of Everett Rogers’s diffusion of innovations model.4 Research shows that broadband television use in the United Kingdom continues to increase significantly, and on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer and Netflix are at the forefront of such a development.5 Beginning in the United States in 1998, initially as a DVD-by-mail rental service and then online video store providing access to films and television series at a relatively low fee, Netflix has shifted into a successful digital distribution platform that produces and streams successful content from the past and the present.6 On Netflix, subscribers can access content when and how they want, thus turning the standard continuous television schedule, or broadcasting “flow,” into a thing of the past.7 Despite not publicly releasing specific ratings data, Netflix is now also famous for the quality and success of its in-house productions, largely credited to the platform’s algorithm, and manifested in its Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and Golden Globe nominations.8

  In academia, policy cycles, and the industry, Netflix and other post-network services are thought to be significantly altering consumption patterns and audience habits and changing the face of home entertainment.9 For instance, Amanda D. Lotz explores the potential end of television viewing as a shared experience, while William Uricchio and Jenna Bennett suggest that modern television lacks the ability to shape daily life on a mass scale because of audience segmentation and diversification.10 Likewise, Elizabeth Evans details the ways in which online television consumption—including increased time- and place-shifting—may change our perceptions of what “television” actually is.11 Indeed, such explorations are needed to assess the change that new online television formats might bring—not just on production and distribution, but also for audiences and society at large. Netflix is at the forefront of such change due to its exceptional delivery system, the targeted, uninterrupted, and on-demand viewing it allows, and the overall control and flexibility it gives users.

  Yet, many of the changes proclaimed by Netflix were also proclaimed by DTV in the United Kingdom with the launch of the first DTV service, Sky Digital. Introduced at the turn of the century, Sky Digital was a subscription-based multichannel broadcasting service offering a multitude of entertainment options, including single-genre thematic channels as well as what were then considered groundbreaking, Internet-like interactive facilities (such as the “Open….” platform offering access to electronic games, emails, banking, and shopping).12 Sky Digital’s unprecedented choice of channels and content gave the user the freedom to focus on her/his favorite type of content or genre in one of the many thematic channels (including film, sports, news, documentary, kids, comedy, music, and much more). Sky Digital also offered a relatively limited option for users to intervene in the broadcasting process and manipulate the television schedule via time-shifting and (near) video on-demand features such as Pay-Per-View (PPV), TiVo, and Sky Plus.13 Though such services nowadays might be considered limited and primitive technologically, at that time they were seen as innovative and cutting edge. In a sense, then, DTV of that time could be considered an unsophisticated predecessor of Netflix.

  Digital Television, Its Early Audience and Some Parallels with Netflix

  When DTV was introduced in the United Kingdom, I studied how the first generation DTV audience responded to this new technology through a nationwide survey research of Sky Digital subscribers, followed by 15 qualitative in-depth interviews with DTV users.14 My quantitative research showed that early users switched over from their analog television to DTV because of the wider choice of channels it offered (77 percent of users), the improved picture and sound (68 percent), the availability of more sports (49 percent) and, interestingly, more film channels and film-related programs (32 percent).15 In this respect, early DTV users exemplified an early preference towards thematic, singe genre channels, indicating an increased turn toward segmentation but crucially also toward customization and personalization. The timid acceptance of the PPV among DTV users also indicated this trend.16 Appreciation for customized and personalized content noticeably manifested during the early days of DTV and has clearly continued to evolve, and ultimately, has been further fostered by algorithmically driven platforms like Netflix.

  My research at the time also showed that for selecting and subscribing to the service of Sky Digital in particular, special offers, the free digi-box giveaways, and more competitive pricing were important incentives for users. It is also important to note that among the vast array of programs available to them, films were the most popular type of content early DTV users liked to watch (just over 69 percent of participants), and this was closely followed by comedies (just under 69 percent), sports (62 percent), and dramas (51 percent).17 This audience preference towards films and series is something that persists through the years and something that Netflix is capitalizing on today. On the whole, increased channel choice, a wider range of content, the introduction of more thematic channels, and affordability were the key attributes driving the take-up of Sky Digital in those early years.18

  Similar attributes such as low cost and perceived high value for the dollar, increased choice, quality content, and thematic programs (films and series) are today the forces behind Netflix’s appeal. In addition, the assumed “user-friendliness” of the service is a significant positive attribute for Netflix, as most interviewees attest. Signs of audience emancipation, and customization of viewing, together with the avid preference towards films and series, were all evident since the early days of DTV—as they are evident, to an even larger degree, among Netflix users today. In what follows, I discuss how the appreciation of choice, control, content, and low cost matters for Netflix users and provide examples of their experiences. First, I provide a short description of my Netflix research methodology and sample, and discuss my Netflix interviewees’ key demographic characteristics, their views on Netflix’s cost and content, and their social and technological context of viewing.

  Netflix Interviewee Profile

  Netflix’s diffusion in the United Kingdom demonstrates relative fast adoption rates and, in this sense, a similar path to the very quick adoption of DTV when it was introduced in the country in late 1998.19 This fast adoption of Netflix indicates a certain attraction of subscribers to the service, and this essay identifies some of the reasons for it. Particularly, I discuss the appeal of Netflix, how UK users in their 30s and 40s consume content on this digital streaming platform, and why they subscribe to the service in the first place. The study draws on qualitative semi-structured and structured face-to-face and online interviews co
nducted between end of 2014 and 2015. Given that Netflix does not readily provide public information about its subscribers and the fact that the service is admittedly at an early (if swift) stage of adoption in the United Kingdom, early adopters were not particularly easy to track. However, 12 users, recruited via acquaintances and snowball sampling, were interviewed in total.

  All subscribers of Netflix interviewed are in their 30s or 40s and in full-time work.20 They are of a high educational level (college degree and above); seven are men and five are women; one is single, three live with their partners, eight live with their partners and young children. Eight of the interviewees constitute four couples, though they were not interviewed as couples but as individuals. These interviews illustrate that most participants subscribed to Netflix because of the content offerings and the affordable cost. Regarding the quality, most interviewees find Netflix to offer a very high standard of content. Most interviewees also suggest that the Netflix free trial initially inspired them to try the service and that they are generally satisfied with the price of a monthly subscription. Thus, respondents say that Netflix offers strong value for the cost and highlight this as one of its primary assets. Much like in the case of Sky Digital and early DTV offerings, we see can see here that cost and free offers are crucial in “catching the consumer.”21

  Elizabeth Evans and Paul McDonald suggest factors such as range of content, cost, and ease of use as most essential in shaping consumers’ attitudes toward digital distribution services.22 Moreover, Phillip Napoli refers to “the easily searchable cornucopia of Netflix” and its great navigability as factors that enhance its use.23 In line with such findings, most interviewees also note that Netflix is user friendly and easy to use, with a clean interface. Having said that, most participants do not find the recommendations or personalization system very helpful but rather just okay. Yet, many remained fascinated by the system; they are surprised at how frequently its suggestions fit their personal tastes. In terms of the interface used for viewing, just over half the participants watch Netflix on their television mostly and on their laptop, and the rest watch on their laptops and/or tablets but not on television. One couple also uses their smart television for Netflix viewing. As far as the social context of viewing is concerned, most interviewees watch Netflix alone or with their partners, family, and/or friends, while only two watch only by themselves. Having briefly described their basic demographics and family status, and quantified/ summarized the interviewees’ levels of satisfaction with the content and choice offered, the cost, and user-friendliness of the service as well as the technology they access Netflix from, I proceed with discussing how they use it, what they like about it, and how they develop habits around it, in more qualitative terms.

  Instant Television: On-Demand and Personalized Viewing

  Aligning with Hye Jin Lee and Mark Andrejevic’s analysis of second-screen applications and contemporary media devices, Netflix’s status as a time- and place-shifting technology allows viewers to watch the programs they want, on their terms, avoiding the constraints of standard television schedule while they can also skip the standard television advertisements.24 All participants are attracted to Netflix principally because of its on-demand characteristics. They are content with the fact that they are liberated from the restrictions of the traditional television schedule. This characteristic of Netflix is taken up by users so as to fit their lifestyle and everyday life circumstances, and this is a reason why Netflix is so successful with subscribers. With this obvious flexibility, the service does not disrupt such everyday patterns or structures. In other words, Netflix permits for a firm and easy domestication.25 Participants’ age and working circumstances, their family life, domestic activities, and free time all play a role in how they use Netflix. Likewise, Netflix’s technological features, control over the scheduling, and the flexible viewing it allows play a role in enabling its easy incorporation in daily routines. As Leo, a 40-year-old busy professional working long hours, commented, “You watch whenever you want and wherever, at home, in the garden…. It’s convenient to have control. Who’s watching standard TV these days? Only my mother-in-law. She’s got the time. I don’t. I don’t have the time when the TV wants. I have the time when I have the time.”

  Leo believes that a service like Netflix is tailored for people his age, generation, and busy lifestyle. He went on to justify how, for people who work long hours in our days, Netflix provides an emancipatory potential and helps them control and structure their busy lives better. He said:

  You have to be over 35–40 [years old] to watch Netflix. Because these are the people who always want to watch TV but never can cause the standard TV program does not fit their daily life structure. But now they can watch when they want… .With standard TV you might want to watch but often you cannot. I can’t watch when I’m back from work because I have to walk the dog. But I can when I’m back from walking the dog. I’m more relaxed about it now with Netflix, because I can.

  Here, Leo gestures toward how Netflix caters to certain needs created by the new paradigms of work and labor and contemporary lifestyles that leave little freedom, in the sense of time, to engage with activities one likes. These also leave little room for unplanned or random activities, as Neil, another interviewee, mentions. Neil added to the discussion on this other dimension of Netflix viewing: that of planned, quality viewing and selectivity. Neil does not have a standard television set. Instead, he said that having instant access to television content means he can be more focused and selective with his viewing and be freed from the standard schedule at the same time:

  Having instant access to TV content, it means choosing to see [a program], when I want to see it. I do not like the idea of watching just whatever is on, or to have to live by a TV schedule, as is normal with linear delivery…. I do not use standard television, and have not used it for a long time. I would say that I am more likely to watch things I’m not really interested in on standard TV, which I dislike.

  This is similar to the comments of Lenny, a father of two, who noted that—even as he enjoys bingeing—he now plans and pre-selects his viewing on Netflix, meaning that his viewing of random programs on standard television has decreased. Mimi, a new mother, also enjoys the control over viewing that Netflix allows; yet, she identifies things she now misses out by not watching normal television. Her circumstances, much like those of Leo, mean that on-demand viewing is preferable due to its convenience. In her newly formed family structure with a new baby and new responsibilities as a mother, Mimi suggested that Netflix enables structured viewing and planned time to relax with television. She assured that being able to watch something when she can is “important because we have a set routine at home and on normal TV there’s nothing on. Obviously the drawback is that I don’t watch normal TV and am behind on news.”

  The participant’s last remark is indicative of a change in viewing patterns taking place when viewers focus on Netflix content alone and give up—or significantly decrease—their traditional viewing. Being caught up in the flow of the service and thus in touch only with the genres available through it, viewers miss out on other types of content on standard television, including news and current affairs. Kim in particular strongly regretted not keeping up with current affairs and news programs as she used to before her subscription to Netflix. She explained:

  I’m less and less aware these days of when things are actually on [standard] TV. It’s like the Netflix style of viewing seeps into all viewing…. [A]nd I find I am missing things that are good that are actually being broadcast, as I don’t check anymore…. Now it’s less likely I’ll come across something I wasn’t planning to watch, and also if I am honest, I watch less news and current events … the more I think about it, having control over the viewing with Netflix, I don’t think it is a great thing and the more I think about it scheduled TV has functions we are now missing, most notably news and current events.

  Other interviewees also stressed this fact, noting ho
w they do indeed miss some of their old viewing habits and practices set around programs they watched on standard television. Some complained about missing sports, like Mike, who said, “It has the greatest series ever. It’s a shame it does not screen any sports. They should get sports in there.” Meanwhile, Eve, while talking about herself and her husband, echoed Mike’s sentiments to a degree, “On Netflix you don’t have the news, that I now watch or follow online, and my husband misses his sports, I guess.” On the issue of sports and news, Chris, a big fan of Netflix, made a clear delineation between the platform and the rest of television; he stated that “normal television for me is about sports and about news. Other than that I don’t think I watch normal television. It doesn’t particularly bother me that these are not on Netflix. I also use a lot of online forums to keep up to date on sport. But virtually anything that’s not news or sport I would watch on Netflix.” We see here how Netflix is beginning to displace traditional broadcasting and “normal” television. For some users like Chris, traditional television remains a part of their lives only through the content that Netflix does not offer like sports and news. Also, it seems that such users are very content with the range of content available on Netflix and equate it to normal episodes and series, turning “normal” television into something different, or an alternative.

  On the issue of control, interviewees like Kim realized that they have now excluded certain things from their daily lives and television habits, largely because of Netflix. Likewise, Gareth expressed ambivalence about the value of control over his viewing. He related this outlook to his old viewing practices and his age/generation: