According to ComicBook, in new report by The New York Times, Netflix is considering dropping the “percentage of match” a title is feature. This feature started before streaming, back when the company was a DVD mailer, they tried to recommend customers titles that were similar to the ones they ordered. According to ComicBook, the new report claims that Netflix wants to replace the algorithm from titles that are similar to description tags. The tags will show a collection of titles that are described similarly to the ones that you have viewed before.
In the past, Netflix has experimented with different algorithm models to see what is the most efficient way for viewers to find new titles. There have been direct viewer feedback on movies and TV shows with the previously used star system, which was followed by the thumbs-up or thumbs-down model. With the titles that were rated by the viewer factored into a match percentage.
According to ComicBook, the tags are actively in use with examples such as “award-winning dark movies,” “visually striking movies,” or “20th-century period pieces.” According to ComicBook, The New York Times noted that the tags are being evaluated by software and a 30 person who are in charge overseeing the creation and assignment of the tags.
Allan Donald, a director of product at Netflix, detailed what the tags will do on a visual level.
“Imagine magazines that have no cover lines, and there were just photographs on them,” Donald said. “Tags make as much of a difference as a cover line in that snap ‘this is for me’ decision.”
According to ComicBook, the report claimed Netflix has around of 3,000 tags, with “romantic,” “exciting,” and “suspenseful,” being the most common and “Occupation: farmhand” being the least common.
Sherrie Gulmahamad, a senior tagger at the streamer, describes the challenges the team will face of the tagging process.
“Let’s start with something that’s been bubbling up from the analysts doing all of our tagging,” Gulmahamad said. “We have ‘falling in love’ versus ‘finding love,’ and we also have ‘looking for love.’ Do we think we need to squish these down into one tag? Or do we think that they’re nuanced and there is a difference between them?”
According to ComicBook, the date for when match percentage is being removed for the tags has yet to be stated.