The two most popular shows on Netflix are not what you think they are.
CBS chief research officer, David Poltrack, is not too impressed with Netflix and Netflix original programming. At the UBS Global Media Conference in New York on Monday, Poltrack praised Netflix for producing hit shows such as Orange is the New Black and House of Cards, but noted that the streaming service is not good at picking new shows as television executives are. That assumption may be hard to believe with so many people in love with Frank Underwood and Piper but, many Netflix has not had a big hit yet…
Read more: Netflix Says Broadcast TV Will Be Dead by 2030
Netflix has not launched a major show since Orange is the New Black. Their next big production is Marco Polo which is set to be released this weekend. Either way, Netflix is on their way to producing amazing original content and it has only been two years since the streaming service started making their own shows. As Netflix chief content officer Ted Srandos predicted, Netflix will “eventually be the largest producer of original content in the world.”
And I wouldn’t doubt it.
What is the most interesting about Poltrack’s statements, isn’t his problem with Netflix, but his research regarding the viewing habits of Netflix subscribers.
He found that Netfix subscribers are spending about 1.1 billion hours a year watching the service’s five original programs. Compare that to the 800 million hours they spend watching NCIS reruns on Netflix. In fact, according to Poltrack, Netflix subscribers only spent 6.6 percent of their time watching Netflix originals.
Read more: Netflix Buys the Exclusive Rights to Fox’s ‘Gotham’
More people are watching NBC’s The Blacklist and ABC’s Once Upon A Time, than any other show on Netflix. Subscribers watch more of The Blacklist and Once Upon a Time than they do all of Netflix’s original content. But, as the saying goes, he who laughs last, laughs longest.
What do you think? Discuss this story with fellow Project Casting fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @projectcasting.
