Per The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix will begin renovations on its home page in the next few weeks and months, depending on location. They plan to continue their conquest into live games and events as well.
With the hot new catchphrase in media being “in this moment,” a phrase that seems to really encapsulate this generations lack of attention span mixed with the unreal pace of social change and technological advancements, Netflix chose well to claim its updates will be “more responsive to your moods and interests in the moment.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix’s Chief Product Officer Eunice Kim says, “This is not the first change we’ve made to our home page. ” She continued to speak at a briefing to reporters, “We’ve been constantly improving it over the last 12 years, mostly behind the scenes, but now, thanks to a combination of new technology and the expansion of our entertainment offerings, we think it’s time to take a giant leap forward.”
The update will leave the home screen looking much more modern and clean, per The Hollywood Reporter. Netflix claims they have found a way to squeeze in much more information, such as callouts on titles that will highlight popularity, awards, or other features. Hopefully, all this new information isn’t an information overload.
Keeping all of the things subscribers have come to love about Netflix while adding access to traditional television, like live games and events, could be quite a task. The Hollywood Reporter reports Kim as saying, “Our current TV experience was built for streaming shows and movies. This one is designed to give us a more flexible canvas now and in the future.” She continues to detail the changes, “We are always going to keep sight of what we think is the best experience for our members, particularly driving discovery and engagement with all of the movies and shows and live events, and games that they love. And we believe that the improvements to the member experience will ultimately drive lots of great outcomes for us as well.”
The Hollywood Reporter also details that Netflix plans on enhancing the mobile experience. They plan to add a TikTok-style home screen that will be vertically oriented and feature clips and trailers from shows and movies that will take you directly to them if you click them.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kim speaks at length on the change. “We know that swiping through a vertical feed on social media apps is an easy way to browse video content, and we also know that our members love to browse our clips and trailers to find their next obsession.” She highlights the next couple of weeks, “we’ll be testing a vertical feed filled with clips of Netflix shows and movies to make discovery easy and fun. You’ll see a row on your mobile home page, and the feed will feature clips from your top picks for you. From there, you’ll be able to tap to watch the whole show or movie immediately, or add it to my list, or share the title with friends.”
They also plan to add a generative AI search tool that will be partnered with OpenAI. Similar to Gemini live, it will allow you to talk to Netflix with natural, free-flowing conversation about what type of media you want to watch.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Chief technology officer Elizabeth Stone says, ““We want you to be able to discover shows in movies using natural conversational phrases, like, ‘I want something funny and upbeat,’ or ‘I want something scary, but not too scary, and also maybe a little bit funny, but not like, ha ha funny.’ Believe it or not, that search phrase will actually yield results in the new experience.”