Report: Key Metric is Instrumental in Determining Which Netflix Shows Get Canceled, Renewed
Have you ever fallen in love with a show on Netflix, binged the whole first season in a day, only to find out the next week that the show has already been canceled? If so, you’re not alone. Netflix is seemingly all too quick to cancel shows, even if they seem to have critical acclaim or a large following.
A new report from analytics company Digital I, highlighted by What's On Netflix might shed some light on why that is. According to reporting from What’s on Netflix, report cites data regarding the biggest day-one hits, binge release vs. weekly release, and more.
The information was compiled from 10,000 Netflix user accounts across the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, and the Netherlands. It shows that if subscribers want a new season of their favorite shows, they’d better be watching the current season all the way through to the end.
Shows that don’t reach a completion rate of 50% or more are highly likely to be canceled, according to Digital i. That explains the fate of “First Kill,” a supernatural teen thriller created by novel writer V.E. Schwab. Only 43.11% of viewers who started the series ended up watching all eight episodes, with more viewers falling off as the season progressed.
The loss in viewership was likely a big factor in the decision to axe “First Kill,” though the streamer never gave an official reason for the cancelation. The data shows clearly that series like “Heartstopper” — which saw a completion rate of 73% — are much more likely to see another season. This also helps to explain why “Resident Evil” was canceled so quickly, despite its massive following from the video game franchise of the same name.
One of Netflix’s most popular shows from 2021 “Squid Game” saw a completion rate of 87%, which meant that Netflix’s analytics backed up the word-of-mouth buzz that surrounded the show, and virtually guaranteed it a second season and led to a “Squid Game”-inspired competition reality series.
Obviously, the number of viewers who finish watching a show is not the only metric that determines whether or not a series gets renewed or canceled by Netflix. But it is clearly an increasingly important piece of information that is given a lot of weight in that determination. So if you’re a little worried about whether or not your favorite show is coming back for another season, make sure you and your friends are watching all the way through to the end sooner rather than later.
Netflix
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