Netflix does away with star ratings in favor of thumbs
Users will be matched with videos based on their "like" history.
— -- Netflix is making a huge change to its current rating system because of past confusion, the streaming site announced Wednesday.
Instead of the stars you've become accustomed to, Netflix will now have a thumbs-up or thumbs-down system that will then match you with movies and TV based on your "like" history. If you're thinking it's very much like a dating app, that's because it is.
In a promotional video released Wednesday, Netflix stated, "The stars are no more." The site went on to explain that the stars had been a prediction of what "you might enjoy" and were not a uniform rating system.
"Ratings on Netflix have never been a reflection of popularity," the video added, which means the stars for a specific movie might not have been the same for others as they are for you.
"We’ve learned through over a year of testing that while we’ve used stars to help you personalize your suggestions, many of our members are confused about what they do," head of product Cameron Johnson wrote in a blog post today. "That’s because we’ve all gotten used to star ratings on e-commerce and review apps, where rating contributes to an overall average, and the star rating shown next to a restaurant or a pair of shoes is an average of all the reviewers."
So, now Netflix thinks it has found a better way. "It's kind of like dating apps," the video admits.
After you get your "thumbs" history going, you'll get matches and percentage estimates based on how much the company's algorithm thinks you'll like something.
"In contrast, when people see thumbs, they know that they are used to teach the system about their tastes with the goal of finding more great content," Johnson added.
"Then you can decide if it's true love," the video says.